FAVORITE FALL FOODS October 18, 2006 Susan Noble Family and Consumer Science Extension Agent

My brain is fried. No, it's not soggy with grease from too much fried food; my brain is fried as in shut down, tired, running on empty. I just can't come up with an idea for today's column.

I suspect my brain status has been brought on by too much autumn activity. There are fall gardening chores to be done, the children's fall festival at church to prepare for, help Mother with her fall luncheon, etc, etc, etc. So here it is -- this column is dedicated to some of my favorite fall foods.

The Slim n' Trim Mac and Cheese uses reduced-fat cottage cheese and evaporated skim milk for creaminess with less fat. Mustard may seem a strange ingredient for mac and cheese, but you need it for flavor. Let's be honest -- most of us like the flavor that fat gives to our food. When you remove fat, you remove flavor. Strongly flavored ingredients, like mustard, help to restore umph to a reduced-fat dish. (Yes, umph is an official low-fat cooking term.)

To dress up this dish for company or a potluck dinner, use tricolored twist pasta. I find that twists do not expand as other pastas do when cooked, so I start with 3 1/2 cups of dry twists. I measure again after cooking and find that it usually takes all the twists I cooked.

The chili will heat up your insides on a cool fall day. I've often kidded that my chili can separate the wimps from the strong - culinary wise, that is. If you prepare the chili by the microwave instructions, do reduce the amount of spices. I can't explain the science, but spices seem to become stronger when cooked in the microwave.

I often hear people say they use ground turkey instead of ground beef to reduce fat. This may not be a good move. Typically, ground turkey has turkey skin ground in with the meat and, thus, may not be lower in fat than a lean ground beef. Compare nutrition labels for fat and calorie content before making your choice.

The chili freezes well, so it's great to have on hand for fast meals when you're busy with autumn activities.

The pear salad calls for walnuts, but pecans - which you may have better access to - would work just as well, flavor wise. To reduce the fat content, try reduced-fat feta cheese.

Now, I've got to get back to my autumn activities. Enjoy these recipes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In large bowl, combine macaroni, cheddar cheese, and onion. In food processor, combine cottage cheese, milk, and mustard; process till smooth. Pour cottage cheese mixture over macaroni mixture and mix together well. Add salt and pepper to taste. Place mixture in 2-quart casserole dish that has been coated with nonstick cooking spray. Mix crumbs and Parmesan cheese together; sprinkle over top of macaroni. Bake 20 minutes.

Stove-top directions: In Dutch oven, brown beef or turkey; drain well. Add remaining ingredients and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer covered for 1 hour.

Microwave directions: Place beef or turkey in microwave-proof colander and cover meat lightly with a paper towel to catch splatters during cooking. Place colander over microwave-proof bowl to catch fat drippings and put both into microwave. Cook on high for 3 minutes; stir meat and continue cooking for 3 more minutes or till meat is no longer pink. Drain any fat from meat. Transfer meat to a 2-quart microwave-proof casserole dish and add remaining ingredients. Cook on high for 10 minutes covered. Reduce heat to 70 percent and cook covered 45 minutes more, stirring twice. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Makes 4-6 servings.

In large bowl, break romaine into bite-sized pieces. Cut pears into bite-sized pieces. (If you will not be serving salad fairly soon, toss pears with a little lemon juice to prevent browning.) Add pears to romaine. Very lightly dress salad with the onion dressing, tossing to coat pears and romaine. Refrigerate till serving time. When ready to serve the salad, add feta and nuts.

The use of brand names in this column does not imply endorsement by the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service of the products or services named or criticism of similar ones not mentioned.

E-mail address: Susan_Noble@ncsu.edu

Mailing Address:
P. O. Box 2280
Lumberton, NC 28359-2280

Phone: 910-671-3276
Fax: 910-671-6278

Date Created 10/26/06