peas at a party

Week 7 is packed with fun recipes . . .

• The Health Club Burritos are adapted from a twenty-year-old Houston Chronicle recipe designed to get kids to eat more veggies—some things never change.  During the first year of Fizzy Meals newsletters we did a week of “pretending” that we were having dinner each night on Wisteria Lane with the Desperate Housewives.  This was Gabrielle’s night–good for you, low fat, some chopping, but very little cooking.  The Fruits with Chili Orange Dressing is great to have in the repetoire when you want more than a stack of lettuce for a TexMex complement.
• Flank Steak O’Larnic, invented on the spot by a Central Market foodie, features a great technique for quick-cooking lean beef with tender results.  After you try this recipe, adapt it to any number of flavors—Japanese, Italian, Greek.  (Speaking of flavors, there’s often confusion about using marinade that has come into contact with raw meat.  Here’s the deal.  You can baste with it at the beginning of cooking or grilling, but don’t continue basting.  You can also reserve the marinade, then cook it to serve as a sauce, as this recipe does.  The point is feel free to use it.  Just be sure that it is cooked/heated to kill any bacteria or other gremlins that it picked up from being in contact with the raw meat.)
• Chicken with Artichokes is a dinner-in-a-minute favorite around here.  Paired with the pretty couscous and the jazzed up tomatoes, it really could go to a dinner party.  For us, it’s a standard busy day rescue.
• Every set of menus needs a comfort night; don’t you think?  I do not like lima beans, but I love the Ham & Lima Soup.  And the blast-from-the-past Homemade French Dressing will bring back of flood of memories if that bottled orange-y dressing was a staple in your mom’s fridge.  But this one has just enough freshness and zing for a new generation.

I’d love to hear how the recipes and menus work for you.