The Silkiest Icing You'll Ever Eat

Before you read any farther, let me start by writing this: Icing is by no means healthy. It is not nutritious, and it is not a food any of us should eat on a regular basis. It's sugar and butter, and not much more.

That said, boy is it delicious when I eat it on special occasions. For the boys' birthdays, holidays, and for bake sales at school, I make this icing. It's not a true buttercream, which includes eggs and a sugar syrup, but this one is easy and silky smooth.

If you're going to eat cake with icing, eat the real deal. Boxed cake mixes have come a long way, but canned frosting is full of trans fats, and artificial ingredients. They can't hold a candle to homemade versions.

What's the secret to great icing?

My Favorite Hot and Cold Sandwiches

Sandwiches are comfort food, they travel well, and they'll satisfy the appetites hungry, growing boys--and I have a surplus of those in my house. Today I'm sharing two of my favorite sandwich recipes, one hot and one cold. The Greek-inspired tuna sandwich is great for picnics, and the Philly one is a favorite on cold nights.

Big Fat Greek Sandwich
I love a good sandwich, one that's so big you have to smash to fit into your mouth. This one is big on flavor, light on fat! This is a Greek-inspired twist on the New Orleans classic, the Muffaletta. That one has lots of cured meats, plus an Italian pickled vegetable salad. This one gets its tang from feta cheese and a light vinaigrette.

Stock Up on Homemade Stocks

Whoever invented store-bought stock is a genius! Talk about product markup. A box, can or bottle of stock can cost three times as much as the homemade version, and in many cases, stocks can be made with food that you would ordinarily throw away. It's a frugal cook's dream! Even better, you can control the salt. In most of my stocks, I don't even add any salt. (If my final dish needs it, I add it later.)

Stocks are not something you make on a busy weekday night, but the hour or two you spend making them on a slow Saturday afternoon will make your rush-hour meals that much more flavorful.

Another funny thing about stocks: You should never taste one and go "Oh my gosh, that's the best thing I've ever tasted!" You also shouldn't want to spit it out. It should be flavorful without overpowering the other ingredients in a dish. Use it instead of water when cooking grains, steaming vegetables, and thinning sauces.

Some people have a few bags or containers in the freezer for stock supplies. I do, too. I store shrimp shells, chicken bones, mushroom stems, and extra bits of chopped onions, carrots, and celery when I've chopped too much for dinner. You can also save parsley stems. However, I do not recommend saving any part of a vegetable you wouldn't normally eat. That is, save carrot tops, peelings, onion skins, and garlic paper for your compost bin, not your stock pot.

Here are a few basic stock recipes to help you boost flavor with almost zero fat!

Vegetable Stock

Making homemade stock is so easy! Try reducing the stock and freezing it in ice cube trays; once frozen, pop out and keep in the freezer until you need homemade stock.

This entire recipe costs $1.90--three times the stock for less than what one box of supermarket stock costs.

Recipe: 15-Minute Fish with Parsley Pesto

This time of year, our palates tend to shift from heavy stews and root vegetables of winter to lighter springtime fare. Farmers markets open with spring peas, asparagus, and even herbs. I make use of those fresh herbs in this recipe. Parsley's clean flavor is a perfect match for fresh fish. You can use any white-fleshed fish in this recipe.

We tend to think of herbs as garnishes, but parsley takes a starring role in this fresh pesto. Try it on toasted whole-wheat bread, steamed vegetables, roast lamb or chicken, too. This parsley pesto is called "persillade," from the French word for parsley ("persil"). Usually a mix of chopped parsley and garlic, I bulked mine up with breadcrumbs.

No food processor? Chop the parsley and garlic and stir other ingredients well to combine. Persillade is a traditional accompaniment to another spring favorite: roast lamb.

What I love most about this recipe is the speed of preparation: It takes about 15 minutes to cook. Add whole-wheat couscous and heat up a bag of steam-and-eat frozen vegetables, and you have a restaurant-quality meal ready in less time than it takes to make a frozen pizza.

Comfort Food from My Motherland

Though I was born and raised in Kentucky, Great Britain holds a special place in my heart. My mother was British, and some summers we visit family in Wales.

In addition to growing up with Hot Browns and other Southern fare, we ate plenty of British favorites, including Shepherd's Pie and Cottage Pie.

What's the difference between the two? If you were a shepherd's wife, you made a pie with vegetables lamb and called it "Shepherd's Pie." If you didn't tend a flock, you likely used beef and called it "Cottage Pie." Whatever you call it, you use a variety of vegetables and top the "pie" with mashed potatoes. It's comfort food for sure, but this version is easy on the waistline.

I like them both, but lean beef is both more affordable and more readily accessible to most people.

Traditionally, one serving has almost 400 calories, more than 20 grams of fat and almost 1,000 milligrams of sodium.

My version has 271 calories, less than five grams of fat and about 300 milligrams of sodium.

Luck of the Irish Nachos and a Better Reuben

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Denise shared some fun recipes with you earlier this week, but I wanted also to share my two new St. Patty's Day dishes.

They're great for a party or as a light meal before you have that (one) green beer!

Chef Meg's BLT-Potato 'Nachos'



On menus at pubs and casual restaurants, I've noticed a twist on nachos: potato chips in place of tortilla chips. Sometimes called "Irish nachos," most versions are fried, but not mine!

Chef Meg's Top 10 Tools for a Stress-Free Kitchen

Awhile back I shared my six favorite kitchen tools. (Watch the video here.) Well, today I'm going to show you Round 2 of my favorites. Now, you can be a great cook--and a healthy one--without most of these tools and appliances, but boy do they make prepping food a breeze. Put these on your wish list--or treat yourself when you reach a goal! (That's my real-life kitchen in the photo above!)






1. Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer: My go-to for mixing cakes and kneading breads. This is the machine that can do it all and leave your hands free. I think they should change the name to the "Multi-tasker Master Mixer." Look for a model with the highest horsepower if you are planning on making a lot of yeast doughs. I have the professional model because I didn't ever want to worry about burning out the motor. Have you ever noticed the front plate on the machine? Well, it is magical. I have pasta rollers that fit in the slot and make pasta rolling and cutting a breeze. You can also pick up a grinding plate that will grind meats in a flash. (I use it to make low-sodium breakfast sausage.) Oh, by the way, check out all the cool colors!

Cost: About $350

The Perfect Super Bowl Party Food: Chef Meg's Chili Con Carne

Families have gone to war over chili recipes! Everyone has an idea about what should go in chili. I love a thick, meaty chili with loads of beans and vegetables. Thankfully my family agrees!

I love this recipe. It's great for a crowd, and t really requires little work on my part. The slow cooker does the work.

You might be tempted to skip the steps of searing the meat and cooking the onions and spices, but don't! They're adding valuable layers of flavor to your chili.

4 Healthy Recipes for Busy Nights

When the days are shorter and the nights are colder, who wants to waste precious time in the kitchen? Not me! Every minute counts, especially when we're all trying to stick with our resolutions to eat better, move more, and get healthier. To help my family manage their busy schedules and still get a healthy meal in their bellies, I created a few new quick recipes. I hope you like them!

6 Party Recipes Under 100 Calories

Holiday parties can be a calorie minefield. Mini quiches, chicken wings, cheese platters--and dips laden with mayo are common this time of year.

It's easy to eat an entire meal's worth--or even a day's worth--of fat and calories without ever picking up a fork or a plate.

When you're talking and standing in front of the food, it's easy to forget to be mindful of your eating, but when you serve lighter fare, your risk of sabotaging your calorie budget is reduced.

I created five new recipes that have fewer than 100 calories--and a sixth one that has only 113 calories! Serve these recipes at your office party, neighborhood potluck, or game night alongside a huge platter of fruits and vegetables.

Welcome November with Tasty Apple Tarts

When did it get to be November? Sheesh! It seems like school just started, and we're already past Halloween.

Fall is the time for pumpkins, of course, but also for apples. And while eating a juicy apple straight off the tree is one of life's greatest pleasures, there's no shortage of ways to use up the harvest either. One of my favorite ways (in addition to homemade applesauce) is to make apple tarts.

I could make a traditional tarte tatin in my beloved cast-iron skillet, but there's just so much butter and sugar in it. That's really a special occasion dish. For a weeknight treat, I like mini apple tarts instead.

Chocolate's Not Just for Desserts

Some refer to it as food for the gods, others like me, call it a saving grace! Why do we love chocolate so much? Is it the taste, memories, or an experience for the mouth?

As you eat chocolate, it hits so many of the senses. As it melts, it covers your tongue and its smells enter into your nasal cavity. Soon your olfactory receptors and taste buds are all screaming in happiness. For me, that moment has a calming effect on the brain and body. Although I crave that feeling, I am not willing to buy larger jeans, so I choose chocolate that's strong and rich. That way, you don't need much, just a taste.

But...that chocolate has to be full of flavor, so don't give me that waxy variety from the supermarket. I want the real stuff: Dark chocolate with at least 60% cacao. Even better, the real stuff is actually good for us.

The experts at SparkPeople agree: "Studies have found that dark chocolate helps prevent heart disease and cancer, and has also been shown to improve mood by boosting the brain chemical serotonin. Some even consider chocolate an effective diet food, claiming that a chunk of chocolate before meals diminishes your appetite."

What makes up the chocolate we eat? It is not just the bean. Chocolate, in its most basic form, contains cocoa bean solids and cocoa butter. Sugar, milk, and other ingredients can also be added. Depending on the variety, the ratios of the ingredients can vary.

Dark chocolate contains less cocoa butter and more cocoa solids.

Milk chocolate contains more cocoa butter and less cocoa solids than dark chocolate.

White chocolate contains no cocoa solids, just cocoa butter.

I bypass the milk and white varieties for deep, dark chocolate when I want a sweet treat, but there's another kind of chocolate that has a place in my kitchen: Unsweetened chocolate and cocoa powder, which do not contain sugar. (Warning! Don't bite into a bittersweet block of chocolate. Your mouth will not be happy.) Instead of eating these straight-up, I use them in savory dishes.

Video: Roasted Root Veggies, a Fall Favorite

The weather is finally starting to cool here in Northern Kentucky, and not a moment too soon. The last of the tomatoes are coming off the vines, but we have root vegetables and apples aplenty. My taste buds are ready for them.

To celebrate the change in season, I want to share a new video with you: Roasted Root Vegetables, the recipe for which was inspired by our dare to get you to love vegetables.

We heard that more than a few of you swear by this cooking technique for vegetables, and for good reason: roasting brings out their natural sugars.

Find the recipe here, and watch the video below.

Chef Meg's Makeover: Brown Rice Risotto

When the weather starts to cool, risotto is one of those dishes that pop up on menus. Creamy and rich, studded with vegetables--and usually full of cream, cheese, and butter. Traditionally, risotto, which is a slow-cooked rice dish that hails from northern Italy, is made with Arborio rice, a short-grained variety that is known for being firm yet creamy when cooked, due to high starch content. (It's also the rice most commonly used in rice pudding.)

To make a basic risotto, aromatic vegetables are sautéed in olive oil and sometimes butter, then the rice is added to the pot. The rice is sautéed to add flavor, then wine is sometimes added. The risotto is cooked slowly and stirred constantly, while cups of hot broth are added. One cup is added at a time, and once the broth is fully absorbed, another goes into the pot. Sauteed vegetables and a bit of cheese finishes the dish.

Most cooks reach for the white variety of Arborio rice, which has had the outer hull removed. Unfortunately, in removing the exterior, it removes the bulk of the fiber.

Stepfanie challenged me to re-create risotto but slim it down. Most restaurant varieties are laden with caloric ingredients. A typical serving can have 400 calories and up to 20 grams of fat. Delicious? Yes! Healthy? Not so much.

Our new version has just 220 calories, just under 8 grams of fat, and almost 4 grams of fiber. Plus, it has one serving of vegetables in each portion.

Keep reading to learn more--and watch the recipe video!

Bread Salad: A No-Cook, 10-Minute Meal

Panzanella is an Italian salad that can be found on trendy bistro menus in the hot summer months. I'll share a secret with you: This salad was invented when times were tough, as a way to use up stale bread.

Essentially, you make a salad--traditionally with plenty of fresh tomatoes--toss it with a vinaigrette, then add cubed stale or toasted bread just before serving. You can toast up a day-old baguette or fresh bread, depending on what you have in the kitchen. The bread soaks up all the delicious juice from the tomatoes and the tangy vinaigrette. The rest of the summer-fresh vegetables add crunch and freshness.

NOTE: If you're watching your sodium intake, reduce the amount of feta or omit it.

TIPS:

• Rub a garlic clove on the bread after toasting for instant, healthier croutons.
  
  
• Instead of cubed bread, you could add two cups of cooked grains (couscous, millet, bulgur, quinoa, or brown rice) or even a small whole-wheat pasta (like orzo or ditalini).
  
  
• Customize this salad to suit your palate, using what you have on hand. This is a recipe that leaves plenty of room for interpretation. Add more tomatoes, toss in some drained and rinsed cannellini beans, or add some oregano. This is a chance for you to be creative!
  
  
• Serve this salad with grilled chicken to boost the protein. For a meat-free meal, add a can of drained and rinsed chickpeas or cannellini beans (white kidney beans) to the dish.