39 simple less Recipes

low-fat milk, heavy whipping cream, sugar, salt, or less, vanilla extract, peppermint extract, semisweet chocolate chips

canola oil, chopped onion, chopped red bell pepper, brown sugar, minced garlic, freshly ground black pepper, ground cumin, water, less-sodium black beans, undrained, white wine vinegar

dry breadcrumbs, capers, rinsed, drained, and divided, chopped simple preserved lemons, pitted ripe olives, drained and divided, garlic cloves, minced, skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, olive oil, chopped onion (about 1 medium), dry white wine, water, fat-free , less-sodium chicken broth, fresh lemon juice, golden raisins, ground turmeric

dry) cooked salad macaroni (you can use whatever pasta you prefer), chopped roma tomatoes (i only had 2, but 3 would be better), chopped sweet onion (approx. - i don tsp measure, sorry), ciilantro (leaves only) chopped (about 1/3 cup), sliced black olives (drained ), minced garlic, mayonnaise (more/less ), yellow mustard (frenchs , i just squirted it in), dill weed - approx . (or you can use dill relish, or if you prefer, sweet), salt and pepper to taste, olive oil (i drizzle with just before serving because it seems to soak up the mayo while in the fridge, just to moisten, and stir)

any liquid can be reduced just by heating it - but why would you want to do that, answer comes back to two of our old friends, flavor and consistency (texture)., by reducing any flavored liquid you intensify its flavor and at the same time thicken it. you can continue this process until what you have left is a syrup if it contains sugar, or a sauce if it does not., this is 1 of the most important tools in the kitchen , believe it or not, because a great sauce can rescue an indifferent meal., literally any liquid can be reduced ., a few uses, wine is frequently used in cooking , both as a marinade and as an addition to sauces for meat., there are some problems with it though, 1 of which is that you need a really good wine and quite a lot of it to produce a reasonable sauce for, say, six people., on the other hand , if you use pure grape juice and reduce it to a syrup, that syrup, added to any sauce (or gravy if you prefer) will lift it into the realms of gourmet ., more , you don tsp have to make your reduction on the night you prepare your meal. you can reduce a liter of grape juice at any time to the consistency and flavor you want; then just store it in the fridge., you can do the same thing with any fruit juice - prune is sensational - and store it until needed. just about all of them will do things for ice cream, pies or tarts that will have your guests demanding the recipe, pork with apple sauce use a carton of fresh apple juice from the supermarket and reduce it. and if you want a real sensation add in a glass of apple brandy during the reduction process., are you getting an idea of how simple this is, take any carton of fresh stock straight of the shelf and reduce it. you will transform it into something even the manufacturer won tsp recognize. but beware, you need to start out with good quality in the first place, because when you reduce a liquid you intensify all the flavors, and not just the good ones., if it s salty to start with, for example, it will be salty beyond belief by the time you ve reduced it even by half. so if you are going to use a supermarket stock, make sure it s an extremely good 1., believe me when i tell you that stock cubes should not be used for reduction sauces., thickeners, because you will be tasting as you go (won tsp you ), you may find that you get the flavor you want before the desired consistency is reached., a couple of hints right now for your sauces., sweet ones can be thickened successfully without loss of color by adding in liquid glucose early on in the reduction process. surprisingly, this will add little in the way of sweetness and produces a beautiful velvety sauce when whisked., if you get it wrong and add too much, no problem. stir in a little extra water to thin it., reduction pans, reductions need to happen rapidly in serving to preserve flavors. and the greater the surface area of the liquid the faster the water will evaporate., however you may want to whisk something into the sauce while its cooking - such as butter or olive oil for example - and for that i find a small wok is best; 1 with a handle., a wok is less likely to reduce so fast that the sauce is burnt while your back is turned. but try both methods and see which you prefer. you may even end up using something totally different., no magic to this. whatever works for you, that s what you should use, in this and everything else to do with cooking., just bear in mind that what you re after is speed and ease of use. as well as a great tasting result, of course. :>), keeping, if they should dry out , simply add a little water and heat through., sauces containing meat juices of any kind must be frozen if you re going to keep them, and should be brought to boiling point before being used again. there is no need to thaw them out to do this, in fact it s better not to. simply drop the frozen cubes into a saucepan, melt them over a gentle heat, and then bring swiftly to the boil., why do you do this to avoid food poisoning, that s why. you are making sure that any bugs introduced into the sauce during the preparation process are killed off., worry , this will not be because of anything you have done wrong (i hope!), but because bacteria are part of our everyday lives and they exist in every kitchen, however clean., in fact your food , and especially your meat, is crawling with wildlife that you will never see. don tsp worry about them. careful handling and simple precautions will ensure that these miniature monsters can never multiply enough to harm either you or your guests.

plain yogurt (i like to use greek yogurt, but everyday yogurt is just fine), fresh lemon juice, minced garlic (more or less if you like ), sugar, fresh basil, chopped fine, salt, pepper

flour, sugar, salt, margarine, dark cocoa (it s better), cinnamon, soda, buttermilk, chopped dates, chopped nuts

cucumbers, extra virgin olive oil, garlic minced or less if you like, some fine chopped red onion if you like, salt and pepper to taste, fresh chopped parsley ( optional ) as garnish

macaroni and cheese mix (kraft or like), milk, butter or 1/4 cup margarine, salt, divided, lean ground beef (90/10 or above is best), onion, chopped finely, measured amount your preference, cheddar cheese, grated and divided, mushroom soup, milk or 1/2 cup half-and-half cream, worcestershire sauce (or less , your preference), pepper, mushrooms, sliced and drained (ingredient is optional)

diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, ground beef, yellow onion, diced, ground cumin (more or less according to taste), chili powder (more less according to taste), onion powder, salt, pepper, garlic powder, mustard, brown sugar, granulated sugar, cocoa powder, thyme, parmesan cheese, american cheese (white )

shrimp , i used extra large, old bay seasoning, celery ribs, cut lengthwise and then diced fine (more or less to taste, i happen to love in mine), onion, fine diced, mayonnaise (i really prefer hellmanns or dukes not miracle whip), scallions, white and green parts fine chopped (optional), lemon, fresh squeezed (about 1 tsp is all you need), lemon zest, fresh parsley, fine chopped, old bay seasoning (to taste), salt, pepper, whole wheat sandwich buns, tomatoes , slices, lettuce leaves

fat-free , less-sodium chicken broth, peanut salad dressing mix (such as taste of thai), broccoli florets, chopped red bell pepper, extra-firm tofu, drained and cubed, hot cooked basmati rice, chopped fresh cilantro (optional)

blue cheese, crumbled, sour cream, mayonnaise, low-fat milk, worcestershire sauce, salt, ground mustard, pepper, garlic powder

lime juice , about 24 limes if using fresh, simple syrup (more or less to taste), water (more or less to taste)

firm fish, cut into 1 1/2 inch chunks (snapper whitefish), a good simple hot sauce (crystal preferred or tabasco, or less), lime , juice of, egg, beaten, flour, cold water, cornstarch, baking powder, good grind black pepper, salt, egg, beaten, flour, melted butter, good malty beer or 1 cup malt liquor, salt

chocolate butter sheet cake , recipe follows, raspberry simple syrup , recipe follows, fresh raspberries plus 1 pint for optional garnish, very bittersweet (70 percent cocoa liqueur) chocolate, chopped in 1/8-inch pieces, unsalted butter , cut into pieces, heavy cream, eggs, sugar, fine quality raspberry flavored liqueur , such as chambord, chocolate butter sheet cake, unsalted butter, softened, eggs separated, bittersweet chocolate, melted, cream of tartar, less 2 tbsp (7 oz) sugar, cake flour, sugar, water, raspberry sauce, fine quality raspberry-flavored liqueur , optional, raspberry sauce, raspberries (fresh or frozen ), sugar, fresh-squeezed lemon juice, raspberry-flavored liqueur, in a blender or a food processor, puree the raspberries with the sugar, lemon juice, and liqueur. strain through a fine sieve to remove the seeds. refrigerate.

chocolate butter sheet cake , recipe follows, raspberry simple syrup , recipe follows, fresh raspberries plus 1 pint for optional garnish, very bittersweet (70 per cent cocoa liquor) chocolate, chopped in 1-inch pieces, unsalted butter , cut into pieces, heavy cream, eggs, sugar, fine quality raspberry flavored liqueur , such as chambord, unsalted butter, softened, bittersweet chocolate, melted, eggs separated, cream of tartar, less 2 tbsp (7 oz) sugar, cake flour, sugar, water, raspberry sauce , recipe follows, fine quality raspberry-flavored liqueur , optional, raspberries (fresh or frozen ), sugar, fresh-squeezed lemon juice, raspberry-flavored liqueur