Running Out Of Time To Cook? Fix A Nutritous Skillet Dinner

What casseroles were to the ‘50s, skillet dinners are to the ‘90s.

The casserole’s appeal was the promise of being able to combine the meal’s starch, vegetables and protein in one dish, pop it in the oven and have a convenient dinner an hour later. That was great, but there are some nights when you can’t wait for the oven to preheat, let alone bake a dinner for an hour.

That’s the advantage of the skillet dinner. You have the same starch, vegetables and protein cooked in a fraction of the time. You’ll want to choose naturally tender foods such as chicken, fish, shrimp, liver or flank steak. You’ll also want to add quicker-cooking vegetables, not potatoes or rutabagas. As you want everything to cook in one pot, rice is your best bet for a starch, but you can experiment with lentils and barley.

The classic paella, a Spanish seafood, sausage, poultry and rice combination, is essentially a skillet dinner. Saute vegetables, add seasonings and meat, then a broth and rice and simmer. Add seafood toward the end of cooking, so it doesn’t get tough.

The following variation, Southwestern Paella, uses the basic recipe but with chilies and spicy chorizo for a tongue-tingling flavor.

And to end the meal with a bang, prepare Margarita Sorbet. This has all the punch of a margarita, but in a soft-frozen delight. Use the best-quality tequila you can afford and Grand Marnier, which is drier than many orange liqueurs.

If you can’t slow down for dessert, make the fast version of a frozen margarita. For each serving, slightly soften cup lime sorbet. Stir in 1 tablespoon each tequila and Grand Marnier for each -cup serving. Serve immediately.

Southwestern Paella

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 small onion, diced

1 garlic clove, smashed

1 medium red bell pepper, cored, seeded and diced

1 medium jalapeno chili, cored, seeded and minced

4 ounces chorizo sausage, cut into pieces

2 chicken drumsticks

2 tablespoons tequila or dry white wine

2 ears corn (or 1 cup frozen corn kernels)

3/4 cup converted rice

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon hot paprika

2 to 2-1/2 cups chicken broth

1/2 pound raw shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 large tomato, cored and diced

Heat oil in large ovenproof skillet. Add onion, garlic, bell pepper and jalapeno chili and saute over medium-high heat until tender, about 5 minutes. Add chorizo and chicken and brown. Pour off any fat. Add tequila and scrape up any browned bits from skillet.

Scrape corn kernels from cobs (hold corn at 45-degree angle and run paring knife down each ear). Add corn to skillet along with rice, cumin and paprika. Stir 30 seconds over medium heat.

Stir in 2 cups chicken broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer 15 minutes or until rice is almost done. If rice mixture is getting dry, heat remaining 1/2 cup broth and stir in.

Stir in shrimp and tomato. Cover and simmer another 5 to 10 minutes or until shrimp are cooked through and rice is tender. (The consistency should be saucy, not dry.) Serve immediately.

Yield: 2 servings.

Nutrition information per serving: 522 calories, 21 grams fat (36 percent fat calories), 37 grams protein, 42 grams carbohydrate, 142 milligrams cholesterol, 1,591 milligrams sodium.

Margarita Sorbet

3 ounces silver tequila

2 tablespoons Grand Marnier

2 tablespoons sugar

5 tablespoons lime juice (2 large limes)

Grated rind of 2 large limes

1/4 cup water

Stir together tequila and Grand Marnier in cup. Set aside.

In second cup, stir together sugar and lime juice until sugar dissolves. Stir in rind and water. Mix with tequila mixture. If mixture isn’t cold, chill in refrigerator 1 hour. Process in ice cream machine according to manufacturer’s directions. Serve immediately.

Yield: 2 servings.

Nutrition information per serving: 212 calories, 0.1 grams fat (no fat calories), no protein, 23 grams carbohydrate, no cholesterol, 3 milligrams sodium.

Note: Mixture will be slushy because of alcohol content.