Quick & Easy Meals

On Wednesday July 11, Connect Community Kitchen members joined forces to conquer several new recipes. This time, we took the easy route and went with recipes that we could all easily duplicate quickly at home with simpler ingredients. We made Peanut Sesame Stir Fry, Citrus Pork Stirfry, Sundried Tomato Pesto & Chicken Pasta Toss and Banana Chocolate Bread for our breakfast component.

Citrus Pork Stirfry

From kraftcanada.com

1 lb. thinly sliced pork loin
2 cups broccoli florets
2 cups sliced carrots
1/2 of a peeled orange, cut into large chunks
1/4 cup KRAFT Italian Dressing
2 tsp. soy sauce
1/4 cup toasted PLANTERS Cashews
PREHEAT grill to medium-high heat. Toss pork, broccoli, carrots, orange, dressing and soy sauce in bowl.
POKE small holes in bottom of large disposable aluminum foil pan. Spoon pork mixture into pan. Place pan on grate of grill; close lid. Grill 15 min., stirring often, until pork is cooked through and vegetables are crisp-tender.
SPRINKLE with cashews. Serve over cooked rice, if desired.

Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto and Chicken Pasta Toss
Ingredients
Pesto:

1 (7-ounce) jar oil-packed sun-dried tomato halves

1 1/2 cups loosely packed fresh basil leaves

1 tablespoon water

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 garlic cloves

Pasta:

2 teaspoons olive oil

1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch pieces

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 (6-ounce) bag prewashed baby spinach

1 (12-ounce) can evaporated fat-free milk

1 (3-ounce) package goat cheese, crumbled

6 cups hot cooked cavatappi (about 4 cups uncooked pasta)

Preparation

To prepare pesto, drain sun-dried tomatoes in a sieve over a bowl, reserving oil. Place 2 tablespoons reserved oil in a food processor. Place remaining oil in sun-dried tomato jar; reserve for another use. Coarsely chop 1/4 cup drained tomatoes; set aside. Place remaining drained tomatoes in food processor. Add basil, water, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 2 garlic cloves to food processor; process until finely minced.
To prepare pasta, heat olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle chicken with 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper. Add chicken to pan; sauté 5 minutes or until chicken is done. Remove chicken from pan. Add minced garlic; sauté 30 seconds. Add balsamic vinegar and baby spinach; cook for 2 minutes or until spinach wilts. Stir in pesto and evaporated fat-free milk. Bring to a boil, and cook for 2 minutes. Add crumbled goat cheese; cook until cheese melts, stirring constantly. Return chicken to pan; cook 1 minute or until thoroughly heated. Combine chicken mixture and pasta, tossing well to coat. Sprinkle with reserved 1/4 cup chopped drained tomatoes.

Peanut-Sesame Stir Fry

from Kraftcanada.com

Ingredients

1 cup Kraft Catalina Dressing

1/4 Cup Kraft Peanut Butter

3 tbsp. each soy sauce and lemon juice

2 Tbsp. sesame seeds

1 lb. Peeled shrimp

1 can drained sliced water chestnuts

3 sliced green onions

1 cubed zucchini

1 each cubed green and red pepper

1 can drained mandarin orange segments

cooked noodles

Directions

1. Mix together dressing, peanut butter, soy sauce and lemon juice

2. Stir fry sesame seeds and shrimp in 1/3 of the prepared sauce in wok or heavy skillet

3. Add remaining ingredients, except for mandarin orange sections and noodles; cook until vegetables are tender. Add mandarin oranges and remaining sauce. Serve over noodles.

Banana Chocolate Bread

From Kraftcanada.com

Ingredients

2 eggs lightly beaten

1 cup mashed bananas

1/3 cup oil

1/3 cup milk

1 cup all purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 100% bran cereal

1/2 Cup granulated sugar

2 tsp. baking powder

2 squares semi-sweet chocolate, grated

Directions

1. Stir eggs, bananas, oil and milk together until well blended.

2. Add flours, bran, sugar, baking powder and chocolate, stir until just moistened

3. pour into lightly greased 8 x 4 loaf pan

4. Bake at 350 degrees F for 1 hour or until done. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pan, cool completely on rack