After-Work Gourmet by Lisa Messinger

Spring ingredients usually save you money just by being fresh and plentiful. Employing strategies that help them cook in a snap is an additional step toward success. That's another benefit of freshness; it doesn't take much prep — if any at all — to make the flavor pop.

Bite-sized pieces of asparagus, shelled peas, corn and spinach leaves just get a quick toss into store-bought, antioxidant-filled tomato soup that's been flavored by curry powder. Pureed olives are a nutritious spread atop ground turkey breast or ground chicken breast burgers that also get a dab of peach chutney and a sprinkling of cilantro before being served on toasted whole-grain buns.

Healthful high-protein Greek yogurt, which recently has filled dairy aisles of supermarkets — often at sale prices — when stirred with unsweetened cocoa powder and no-calorie natural sweetener makes a dynamic and super speedy creamy-without-the-cream filling for a freshly ground quick almond crust.

Everyone can use a little help planning weeknight meals — and if that only takes seconds, that's even better. The three nights of springtime menus that follow offer a lifeline during a busy week and prove that cooking can be easy, nutritious, inexpensive, family-friendly, fun — and fast.

HEALTHY MENU 1

—Appetizer

Celery Makes for an Easy Sell

Mix nonfat cream cheese with finely diced economical mock crab or drained, flaked canned salmon, finely diced red bell pepper and finely diced green olives and lemon-pepper seasoning blend (or freshly ground black pepper and a few drops of lemon juice) and stuff into celery stalks. Cut into bite-sized pieces.

—Entree

Cereal for Dinner

Economically — and healthfully — extend your meat dishes further by strategically and tastily using cereal. Toss a combination of ground oats and barley into meatloaf or meatballs. Make oven-baked chicken pieces more filling by first dipping them in beaten eggs and coating in crushed whole-grain corn flakes or bran flakes that have been topped with a touch of honey.

—Healthy Dessert

Marshmallows Multiplied

Drain and chop canned apricots, peaches and apricots (the kind of fruits that have been packed with juice only and not syrup), combine with unsweetened flaked coconut, chopped pecans and mini marshmallows and add back in a little of each of the fruit juices. Heat in microwave in microwave-safe container or in saucepan on stovetop until marshmallows begin melting. Stir well and spread atop slices of store-bought angel food cake (which is a soft, fat-free, fairly low-calorie option).

QUICK MENU 2

—Appetizer

Spring Garden in a Soup Pot

You don't have to become an expert at individual cooking methods of seasonal vegetables; just toss them into a convenient soup and let the heating do the work.

To store-bought tomato soup (which becomes an even more excellent antioxidant due to the lycopene that emerges from the tomatoes during the canning process), add bite-sized pieces of asparagus, shelled peas, fresh corn, spinach and curry powder. Shred pepper jack or Monterey Jack cheese on top to begin melting just before serving.

—Entree

Making Room for Portobello Mushrooms

Slice strips of large Portobello mushrooms, red onions and green bell peppers and marinate, covered and refrigerated, in store-bought low-fat balsamic vinaigrette dressing. Remove from marinade and serve in baguettes topped with jarred toasted sesame seeds and freshly grated Parmesan cheese, placing under broiler just until bread begins to toast and cheese melts.

—Healthy Dessert

Creamy Chocolate Cream-Free Pie

In a blender or food processor turn almonds into crumbs, remove, add slight amounts of both almond extract and grapeseed oil. Push into and up sides of pie tin. Toast in oven until crispy. In a bowl, combine nonfat Greek yogurt (a high-protein healthful option recently sold economically under multiple brands in yogurt aisles of major supermarkets), unsweetened cocoa powder and a natural no-calorie sweetener, such as stevia. Spoon into crust and, optionally, if desired, top with mini marshmallows and shavings of dark chocolate.

QUICK MENU 3

—Appetizer

Spice Rack Spontaneity

Into nonfat sour cream, mix ground tarragon, dill, lemongrass, ginger and mint, as well as a small amount of freshly ground black pepper. Mix well and serve with a combination of fresh spring vegetables, such as asparagus, green beans and sugar snap peas, for dipping.

—Entree

All in for Olive-Topped Poultry Burgers

Puree black and green pitted olives with curry powder. Grill ground turkey breast or ground chicken breast burgers. Spread olive puree on top of burgers before further topping with a dab of store-bought peach or mango chutney, fresh spinach leaves and chopped fresh cilantro on toasted whole-grain burger rolls.

—Healthy Dessert

Nutty Idea in — and on — a Snap

Melt sugar-free caramels until just soft and stir in ground cinnamon and unsweetened flaked coconut. While still malleable, with a wide knife carefully spread on top of (the bottom flat, smooth side of) sugar-free gingersnaps and top the caramel spread with chopped pecans. —Photo courtesy of FoodNetwork.com

Lisa Messinger is a first-place winner in food writing from the Association of Food Journalists and the author of seven food books, including "Mrs. Cubbison's Best Stuffing Cookbook" and "The Sourdough Bread Bowl Cookbook." She also writes the Creators News Service "Cooks' Books" column. To find out more about Lisa Messinger and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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