Mon | Easy does it
A versatile bag of cheese tortellini can be used in many ways, but tonight it's headed for a brothy bowl of soup. For Green Tortellini Soup With Parmesan, cook the pasta according to instructions in about 7 cups of stock (chicken or veggie). In the last few minutes of cooking, add a cup of frozen peas and 2 cups of chopped fresh spinach. Season with salt and pepper. Garnish with grated or shaved Parmesan. Serve with heated herbed focaccia bread.
Tues | Dilly of a side
Vegetable sides dishes flummox me some nights and I get tired of the same old thing. Dill Green Beans are a tasty accompaniment with almost any protein you put on the table, including fish. To make, steam a pound of trimmed green beans for 6 to 8 minutes, then toss with a mixture of ¼ cup rice vinegar, ¼ cup reduced-sodium soy sauce, 2 tablespoons snipped fresh dill and, if you'd like, 1 tablespoon of sesame seeds.
Wed | Rotisserie chicken
Lone Star Chicken Enchiladas (recipe below) require 3 cups of shredded cooked chicken, which will be an entire bird. If you want to use white meat only, you'll need to buy a couple of rotisserie chickens and save the dark meat for another use. Instructions are included on how to make ahead and freeze. Seasoned rice and fresh fruit on the side.
Thurs | Asian accents
Use store-bought sesame ginger salad dressing — Annie's Naturals makes one — for easy Asian Beef Salad With Egg Rolls. Load up salad greens with shredded carrots, sliced water chestnuts, crunchy snow peas and bean sprouts. Dress with vinaigrette and layer on rolls of deli roast beef. Halve the hot baked egg rolls and place on top.
Fri | Kicked up cuisine
Make Spicy Toasted BLTs with thick slices of bacon and tomato, ice-cold lettuce and a slather of mayonnaise spiked with heat on thick slices of country bread. To make the spicy spread, add 2 teaspoons chili powder, 1 clove minced garlic, a couple squeezes of lemon juice and a few shakes of cayenne to ⅓ cup mayo. (Or check out Marie's chipotle ranch dressing, which is usually stocked in the refrigerated cases of the produce section.) Serve sandwiches with watermelon slices and jicama sticks doused with lime juice.
Read Stir Crazy online at www.blogs.tampabay.com/food. Janet K. Keeler can be reached at jkeeler@tampabay.com or (727) 893-8586.