ArcaMax Recipes 09/16/2005

Black Bean Salad
Spicy Meatloaf
Cheesy Mashed Potatoes
Green Bean Casserole
Zabaglione

We hope you enjoy this menu that serves 6 to 8.
_______________________________________
Starter
_______________________________________

Black Bean Salad

2 15-oz. cans black beans, drained
1 sweet onion, chopped finely
1 cucumber peeled, seeded and chopped finely
3/4 cup ripe olives, pitted and rough chopped
1 fresh tomato, chopped
1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
3 Tbsp. olive oil
2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
1/2 Tbsp. dry mustard
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. fresh ground pepper

Combine first 6 ingredients. Combine olive oil, vinegar, mustard
and salt and pepper and pour over bean mixture. Mix well and
allow to sit for at least 3 hours before serving to allow flavors
to blend.

The Skinny: Not much room for improvement here.
_______________________________________
Main Course
_______________________________________

Spicy Meatloaf

2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 sweet onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 pounds lean ground beef
3 tsp. salt
3 tsp. fresh ground pepper
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup V-8 vegetable juice
3/4 cup fresh chopped parsley
2 Tbsp. hot sauce
1/3 cup ketchup

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat oil in pan and saute onion
for about 3 minutes. Add garlic and saute for 1 minute. Put
onion and garlic in large mixing bowl and add ground beef, salt
and pepper, eggs, vegetable juice, parsley and hot sauce. Mix
well and mold mixture into a greased loaf pan (about 12 x 8
inches). Top with ketchup and bake for one hour.

The Skinny: Use the leanest ground beef you can find. Use low
sodium vegetable juice and your favorite egg substitute.
You can control how spicy this dish is through your choice of
hot sauce. Tabasco or some other relatively mild hot sauce will
provide a subtle warmth. If you are feeling a little spicier,
use one of the extra hot sauces made with habanero peppers. For
a little extra spice, mix the ketchup with a few dashes of hot
sauce before spreading the ketchup on top of the meatloaf.

Cheesy Mashed Potatoes

4 large potatoes, cut into quarters
2 cloves garlic, cut in quarters
1/2 cup warm milk
1/2 cup cheddar cheese
2 Tbsp. butter
Salt and pepper to taste

Put potatoes and garlic in large pan with just enough water to
cover the potatoes. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium, put
the lid half-way on the pan and boil for about 20 minutes.
Drain potatoes and garlic and return to pan. Mash potatoes and
garlic, then add about half of the warm milk, the cheese and butter.
Continue mashing over very low heat, adding the rest of the warm
milk as necessary to make the potatoes nice and creamy. Season
with salt and pepper.

The Skinny: Use low fat milk and cheese. We leave the skin on
our mashed potatoes. Supposedly, most of the vitamins and
minerals are in the skin and we are just used to leaving the
skin on. Feel free to peel your potatoes before cooking if
you prefer; just don't blame us if you miss out on some
vitamins and minerals.

Green Bean Casserole

4 cups fresh green beans, cut into 2 inch pieces
1 can (10 and 3/4 oz.) condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 can (10 and 3/4 oz.) condensed cream of chicken soup
2 cans (2.8 oz.) French fried onions

Blanch green beans in boiling water for about 2 minutes. Drain
beans and place in a casserole dish. Combine beans with soups
and mix well. Bake at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes. Top
with French fried onions and bake for about 5 minutes more.

The Skinny: Use low fat soups. Hopefully, you can find French
fried onions in your local grocery store. For those of you that
are not familiar with French fried onions, they come in a little
can, are very crunchy and have a strong onion flavor. If you
cannot find French fried onions then add about 1/2 cup of chopped
onions to the dish and use something else crunchy like crumbled
potato chips to top the casserole.
_______________________________________
Dessert
_______________________________________

Zabaglione

1 cup champagne
1/2 cup sugar
4 egg yolks
2 eggs
8 cups mixed strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries,
etc.

Combine champagne, sugar, egg yolks and eggs in the top of a double
boiler. Cook over just simmering water for about 10 minutes until
the mixture begins to thicken. Whip with a whisk for about 3
minutes and remove from heat. Spoon mixture over berries in
individual serving bowls.

The Skinny: We have not tried this dish with egg substitutes but
it should work. Use your favorite sugar substitute. Let's face
it, there is no substitute for champagne but you may be able to
use an alcohol-free sparkling wine if you cannot tolerate alcohol.
_______________________________________
Grocery List
_______________________________________

2 15-oz. cans black beans, drained
2 sweet onions
1 cucumber peeled, seeded and chopped finely
3/4 cup ripe olives, pitted and rough chopped
1 fresh tomato, chopped
1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
5 Tbsp. olive oil
2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
1/2 Tbsp. dry mustard
6 cloves garlic
3 pounds lean ground beef
4 eggs
4 egg yolks
1 cup V-8 vegetable juice
3/4 cup fresh chopped parsley
2 Tbsp. hot sauce
1/3 cup ketchup
4 large potatoes, cut into quarters
1/2 cup warm milk
1/2 cup cheddar cheese
2 Tbsp. butter
4 cups fresh green beans, cut into 2 inch pieces
1 can (10 and 3/4 oz.) condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 can (10 and 3/4 oz.) condensed cream of chicken soup
2 cans (2.8 oz.) French fried onions
1 cup champagne
1/2 cup sugar
8 cups mixed strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries,
etc.