The Magic of Three Ingredients
Regina Murphy
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
I get a regular e-mail from a group called “hungrygirl.com” that often serves as a source of inspiration.
A few months ago they sent out some three-ingredient recipes, which reminded me of several people who have said “I love to read your column, but I don’t cook anything that has more than three ingredients in it.” I have accepted the challenge.
At first I thought “a can of this, a can of that and some rice” but there’s a lot to be done with fresh items, too. For the sake of my sanity, I’m not going to count salt and pepper as actual ingredients.
SIMPLE SWEDISH
MEATBALLS
1 lb. ground beef
1 med. onion
16 oz. container of sour cream
Finely chop the onion and mix well with the ground beef, seasoning with salt and pepper to taste. Form meatballs about an inch and a half round. Brown these in a skillet, rolling them around every now and then to brown evenly and cook thoroughly. Drain off most of the juices, leaving two to three tablespoons in the pan.
Whip the sour cream with a fork to aerate it a little, and pour this into the pan with the meatballs. Stir to coat the meat balls and incorporate the meat juices. Heat through and serve over egg noodles or other pasta.
This recipe is very tasty, and if you cut the rolls on the bias and stand them on end it makes for a flashy presentation.
BEEF NEGAMAKI
1 lb. thin cut top round steak
12 scallions
3/4 cup stir-fry sauce
Microwave scallions, covered with a damp paper towel, on high for one minute to soften (or saute in a skillet)
Place each steak between sheets of plastic wrap. Gently pound until about 8-x-6-inches and 1/8-inch thick. Lay three scallions down the length of each piece; tightly roll up from a long side and secure with wooden toothpicks. Put in a large zip-close bag.
Heat the sauce with a tablespoon of water, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Pour 1/3 cup of this over the meat and refrigerate 30 minutes or up to 1 hour.
Finish by grilling or broiling the negamaki for five minutes, turning to brown on all sides. Discard the marinade, and heat the last of the sauce up. Remove the picks and cut the negamaki into 2-inch lengths.
Serve negamaki sushi style, standing the rolls on end, with a side of sauce for dipping and a small marinated cucumber and ginger salad or some steamed rice.
Now, if you happen to have fresh herbs in your garden, why not add a fourth or fifth ingredient to this next recipe? Fresh is best! If you bone and skin your own chicken, don’t forget to save that stuff to make chicken stock.
TOMATO BASIL CHICKEN
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 1/2 cups crushed tomatoes with basil (or other Italian seasonings)
1 1/2 cups white onion, thinly sliced
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Caramelize onions over high heat in a nonstick skillet sprayed with nonstick spray. Pour half the tomatoes into a baking dish and layer the chicken on top. Next, layer the onions and pour the remaining tomatoes on top.
Bake about 30 minutes, or until chicken is done. Serve with a steaming bowl of rice, or some egg noodles.
ITALIAN FLANK STEAK
2 envelopes Italian salad dressing mix
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 flank steak, about 1 pound
Combine oil and dressing mix in plastic resealable bag. Add steak and shake to coat. Refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight. Grill or broil until desired doneness.
ALFREDO NOODLES WITH BEEF
1 jar Alfredo sauce
1 lb ground beef
1 pkg. spaghetti
Cook spaghetti according to package directions. Brown ground beef and drain off fat. Add the Alfredo sauce and heat through. Pour over spaghetti noodles and toss to coat. If there are any fresh herbs in the garden, go snip a few to go on top.
CARROT HASHBROWNS
3 potatoes, grated
3 carrots, grated
1 Tbsp. oil
Toss the carrots and potatoes together in a bowl (if you leave the skins on, scrub well with a brush under running water before grating).
Heat the oil in a skillet, then dump in the grated veggies to form a large pancake. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook until browned on one side, then flip and brown the other.
Cut into wedges to serve, and accent with applesauce, sour cream, breakfast sausages, fried eggs, etc.
MUSHROOM POTATOES
1 can cream of mushroom soup
3/4 cup milk
4 medium, cooked potatoes, diced
Combine ingredients and pour into a lightly greased casserole. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes. Add some browned ground meat to “beef” it up, and maybe some onions.
Biscuits can be used all day long for meals, soups, small sandwiches and even desserts. A hot, buttered biscuit is hard to beat.
EASY BISCUITS
2 1/4 cups self-rising flour
3/4 cup shortening
1 cup milk
Mix ingredients together in a large bowl. Pour out on floured, waxed paper. Pat the dough out with your hands until dough is not sticky (add a little flour if necessary). Fold double. Cut biscuits with a biscuit cutter, or use the floured rim of a drinking glass. Bake on a cookie sheet at 425 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes.
This very simple dessert is also low-sugar, low-fat, low-calorie. You could experiment with different kinds of fruits and sodas.
CRAN-TASTIC PEARS
4 medium pears, sliced
12 oz. diet Ocean Spray cranberry soda
dash cinnamon
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lay pear slices flat in a large baking dish lightly sprayed with nonstick spray. Sprinkle with cinnamon and then pour the cranberry drink over the pears. Bake in oven 45 minutes or until pears are soft. Remove and allow to cool in the juices for 30 minutes. Serve hot or cold, with or without ice cream and cinnamon tortilla strips, and save the juice to put in your next smoothie or fruit salad.
So, if you look in the pantry and see at least three things, chances are you can make something out of it. And buying three of something is a lot cheaper than buying 10 of something. Your challenge now, cooks of the Flint Hills, is to send in your best three- to five-ingredient recipes. I want to see what you’ve got!
Send those recipes to murphysmenu@yahoo.com, or 517 Merchant, Emporia, 66801. Let’s get cooking!