(upbeat music) And welcome to Arkansas Taste Kitchen.

I'll confess, I can't wait to taste what we cook in this kitchen on this episode.

But first, let me remind you that we cover a lot of issues like availability of food, the economy of food, techniques involved.

Today's issue as I turn to Alyssa and Chef Robert, time.

Alyssa, time is a factor when it comes to preparing things in the kitchen.

You're right, Craig, and time is incredibly valuable.

It's hard to put a dollar amount on time, but we know that, you know, takes time to usually make healthy foods.

We want to show you some ways to kind of combine your preparation, combine your cooking techniques, get your meal ready to go.

I don't think we can do a dish, a whole meal that is any easier than this and less time consuming.

Okay, now we did, we did do one thing to save us a little bit of time, and we've already cut up the potatoes.

We've already, bite sized pieces any particular way.

You can use frozen potatoes, but we have some potatoes.

We have some bone in skin on chicken thigh.

That's important.

And we have any blend of frozen vegetables that you want.

Okay.

Starch, protein, vegetable all in one pan.

You cut it up, you put it on the platter.

You open the package.

Now, I can't show this to the camera very well.

I'll spill all the water.

But if you're going to cut fresh potatoes in advance, put them in water.

Okay.

If you have extra time in the morning, you can cut your potatoes, run them under water, stick them in the fridge, and you're okay.

If you leave them out, they start to turn brown.

You can't get rid of.

They oxidize.

Okay, so just here on our TV set, I'm going to pour off the water.

Right.

And you've got red potatoes today.

So the red potato is a waxy potato.

The russet potato is what we're most familiar with, a baking potato.

Those russet potatoes are really, really soft.

And they can turn to mush.

Don't want that.

These are a little more fibrous potato.

So they're going to hold when we stir, for example.

They're not going to break apart.

Okay.

Does that mean that potato if it's fibrous has fiber.

Absolutely.

Boom.

Yes.

Potatoes also have things like potassium that are going to be really important in an overall healthy diet.

Potassium helps with blood pressure.

Any I don't even know what this mix is, but it's just frozen vegetables, a blend from your grocery store.

And I'm putting this in here frozen.

So a little bit of water, residual water from the potatoes and the water that's going to come out of these vegetables initially in the oven is going to create steam.

And that steam is going to be pretty important to cook everything.

That allows us the opportunity to have vegetable, potato and chicken all on the same platter, all on the same platter.

Now, folks, I told you this is going to be easy, didn't I?

You mention that these vegetables are super simple, but they're really colorful and they look really fresh.

They do.

Even though they're frozen.

So frozen vegetables can be just as nutritious as fresh.

You're not going to put that in the oven right now, are you?

No.

Not yet.

We need to season that.

Okay.

Because to make nutritious delicious, we need to add some seasonings to it.

But I need to get the chicken gack off of my fingers.

Okay.

I think that's a good idea.

While we de-gack, let's talk about these frozen vegetables.

The value in frozen over say, fresh.

Which do you recommend?

And I think I know the answer without even asking.

I recommend both.

Fresh is really great if you know you're going to use it within about a week of purchase, but frozen, you can buy and keep in your freezer for up to three months, and it's still going to have the same high quality.

The nutritional value is pretty much even across the board.

It's more about convenience here.

And canned.

We've established in past episodes.

No.

Out.

No, no.

The canned has a place for sure.

It does?

I would say there's there's maybe a hierarchy of nutritional value.

This dish just for the integrity of, of all of the elements of this dish.

If you're going to use canned vegetables, you might want to warm those separate in a microwave, microwave.

That's a mouthful.

Microwave safe bowl on the stove top.

You want to warm those separate there.

They'll turn to mush in the pan while this roasts.

And we're adding some oil.

A little canola oil.

You can use whatever oil you prefer but canola oil as a very high smoking point.

So it takes high temperature and the oven is a little bit high temperature 350 degrees.

But that's high enough.

Say it again.

350 degrees.

We call it just the standard oven temperature.

Okay.

So this canola oil is a plant based oil and it's really high in polyunsaturated fats.

So that is more heart healthy than your animal based saturated fats like your chicken skin that you'll see here.

So we've got salt for flavor.

Good.

We used about half of the salt that the printed recipe is going to call for.

Then after this is all done, we can take a bite and you can afford to add a little more salt if your palate wants some more salt.

Yes.

Good idea.

We're going to add all of the garlic powder.

In fact that goes for all the dishes we prepare on Arkansas Taste Kitchen.

Yes, we prepare it.

We're proud of it.

But individual taste may require some adjustment.

Am I correct in that assumption?

Absolutely.

Absolutely.

And even our taste buds are different.

Our taste buds are different.

We want to make food, the same for you at home, you want to make food that's nutritious.

You want to make food that's delicious, but you want to make food that the whole family is going to enjoy.

And even your kids, they're not going to oh, this this dinner is punishment.

This dinner is not punishment right here at all.

The simplicity of it is so appealing here.

A little black pepper.

This is something I have members of my family that can't have any black pepper because it's too spicy.

And then I've got other members of my family that is there a hotter chili than the Carolina Reaper?

Can we find that to put on the.

I'm in the middle.

In the middle of those.

This is it.

That is beautiful.

In the oven it goes.

We'll be able to take this out and eat it in about 45 minutes.

Well, our show is not long enough for that.

Magic of television.

Fortunately, we have a way to get around that which we'll tell you about, but that is terrific.

Did you come up with this?

No.

This is a collaboration.

We left the skin on the chicken and intentionally has the skin on the top.

While it's in the oven, the fat of the chicken that's underneath the skin is going to start to render, or it melts.

And that melting fat is going to add to from the salt and the pepper and the garlic.

It's going to add to flavor to the vegetables and the potatoes, as well as all through the chicken meat.

And that concept doesn't bother you at all?

It doesn't.

No, so we want less than 10% of our total fat intake for the day to come from saturated fat, so they're less heart healthy.

They're the ones that are mostly animal based, but having a little bit here and there adds flavor, makes food fun, and it can still be okay for your health.

So to sum it up, we've got a little bit of this.

We've got a little bit of that.

We've even got some chicken fat.

And I think you're going to like it like that when we come back.

(upbeat music) Date information on packaged foods can be a little confusing.

Most date labels are about quality, not safety.

Best buy and used by dates help indicate peak freshness, while sell by dates help stores manage inventory.

Best buy is when the food tastes best.

Use by, last recommended date for quality and sometimes safety, and sell by, that's for stores, not consumers.

You don't have to throw away food just because it's past the sell by date.

You need to store foods correctly, refrigerate promptly, and prioritize items closer to the dates listed on the package.

It's also helpful to know that some foods have additional recommendations for quality and safety after the package has been opened.

So read your packaging in detail.

Oh, it's such a good thing you'r watching Arkansas Taste Kitchen because on this episode you get two, two, two easy to prepare meals for one fabulous family on one fabulous, well sheet, or pan.

Am I right, Alyssa?

I'm trying to set it up because this is a very valuable show.

Italian pasta bake.

That's an easy way to put it.

The Italians have a dish called mostaccioli.

Mostaccioli.

That's nice.

This is essentially, with a few vegetables added, this is mostaccioli.

Super, super simple.

Have some water already boiling.

Okay.

Okay.

Dry pasta.

Here we go.

You getting this?

Penne pasta.

Penne pasta has little ridges on it.

And then the sauce and the vegetables and the meat stick to the little ridges.

Oh.

Mostaccioli is the same pasta as this penne without the ridges, that's all.

Okay.

In the water.

Aren't you glad you're watching?

Man, you're going to be able to impress so many people with everything you're hearing here.

Italian sausage in a preheated pan.

You'll hear a little tss.

(sizzling sound) That's a beautiful sound.

There you go.

So this Italian pasta bake is going to have some good carbohydrates from our pasta.

Going to have some protein from the sausage.

And we get to add three different types of vegetables to the dish.

I notice we've got a can on the table, Alyssa.

Are you ready to talk about that?

Yes.

So one of the features of this Italian bake is really friendly if you are in, say, your convenience grocery option near where you live.

If you don't have the access or availability to all of the fresh produce, you can find everything that we're working with canned today.

So when you are looking at a can of vegetables, it's important to check out the Nutrition Facts label and see what all you're getting in a serving of whatever is coming in the can.

What would make you throw that can out?

Or put it back on the shelf and say, no, not for us.

Is there an ingredient that people should avoid?

Not so much avoid, but something to be mindful of.

And that is going to be your milligrams of sodium per serving.

And a good little trick that I have is you check out the milligrams of sodium per serving, and you look at the calories per serving.

And if that sodium number is five, six, seven times the number of calories, it's probably really high in sodium.

So this one is 180mg and 25 calories.

So it is a higher sodium product.

But sodium is going to add some flavor here through salt.

And it's going to be a preservative.

You're going to forgive it for what it's going to do?

Right Yeah.

The lycopene in the tomatoes that we have here, the vitamins and minerals definitely going to be worth it.

It's already smelling really good.

So I could have started the the sausage with some oil in the pan Yeah.

I choose not to do that.

Well, I notice you're kind of sticking, it's sticking to the pan.

It sticks a little bit, but when we add the tomato, the acid from the tomato is going to pick all of that.

That stuff that sticks is very delicious.

We call that fond.

And I am fond of the fond.

Thank you.

I'm sure the first chef to ever make that up.

But if I avoid the oil right from the beginning, you can get a little bit of the grease that the pork, we're using pork sausage so that that gives off just a little bit.

Then we're not adding fat on top of fat on top of fat, right?

Little trick.

Now that our sausage is almost cooked all the way through, we're going to just really start adding everything else.

Now, what kind of spinach have we got here, Alyssa?

We just have canned spinach.

Well, that's a surprise.

Canned mushrooms.

Right.

That's another surprise because normally we don't advocate that that much here.

We're all about convenience here with this recipe.

So mushrooms tend to go bad quickly in the refrigerator.

They have a very short refrigerator life, especially if you wash them first, they tend to get slimy.

But canned, you can keep on your shelf for a much longer time, and it's great if you're looking to make a healthy, quick recipe.

Diced tomato, stewed tomato.

And they're out of the can.

Whole tomato, tomato puree.

Tomato sauce.

A little more chunk, a little more fiber.

You know, dietary vegetable fiber from petite diced tomatoes, whole tomato, stew tomatoes.

We're using diced here.

All in one pan.

All in one pan.

We're going to add the garlic.

The pasta continues to boil.

We're going to add dried oregano.

We're going to add, we say this a lot, we're going to add about half of the salt that the recipe calls for.

And we're going to add for this about half the pepper that the recipe calls for.

And we'll save the rest of the salt and pepper for the plate.

Maybe you don't need any more.

Yeah.

I don't think so.

With a recipe like this, you're going to have some salt in the sausage.

You're going to have some salt from all of your canned vegetables.

So it's definitely something that you can wait until you taste it to see how much to add.

It looks like it would have, it would, grated cheese on top would be really good.

We're going to have some mozzarella cheese in it.

And on it.

I didn't see.

I can tell Craig's prepared.

And can you see what you thought was sticking to the bottom of the pan?

There is nothing sticking to the bottom of the pan anymore.

Wow.

All that flavor back in the recipe.

Look at you.

The pasta.

While this kind of simmers a little bit, the pasta takes, according to packaged directions, about 10 to 12 minutes.

We're only going to give it about eight.

We're not going to cook it all the way.

The moisture from the tomato, the moisture from the spinach is going to help cook the pasta the rest of the way.

Then your finished dish, when it comes out of the oven is not going to be mushy.

I think that's great.

I'm a textural eater.

I don't want a bunch of mush.

You've got a track record on this show.

Unmatched.

Both of you.

Time.

Alyssa, how much time do you think we're looking at for this whole meal?

So from what you can see, we're really waiting for the pasta to boil.

And that's the long one.

For about eight minutes.

Everything else you can cook in under eight minutes.

And then.

I'm going to drain the pasta if you'll spray the casserole.

Yes.

I'm just going to give this a shake.

So then the rest of the time is just baking.

Here we go.

Hit the sides.

Just baking this dish in the oven so it'll taste, it has a nice little crunch.

It has a good mixture of everything together as far as flavor goes.

I'm going to put the pasta right in the same pan.

Look at how easy.

You all.

We've gotten two fabulous, easy to bake, one pan, one sheet meals that, speaking of the other one, I guess we're going to show that here in a minute, right?

I'm starting to worry about, where is it?

We like to talk about versatility.

We could be done and sprinkle some parmesan cheese or melt a little the mozzarella on the top right here in the pan.

I would cook the pasta a little bit longer to be done right now versus.

Here we go.

This is hot.

Okay.

So we're going to pour this.

He's the star of our show, y'all We're going to start right in.

Thank you.

Thank you.

I'm talking about the food.

That looks amazing.

Even though it looks a little bit juicy right now.

The pasta is going to pick all of that up.

Isn't that wonderful.

Penne pasta with the ridges.

So the ridges have a reason.

And then I'm going to take some of our cheese.

Say this is what I missed.

I don't know how I missed that jar of cheese there, but there it was.

And I'm going to mix it in.

Yes.

Yes, Chef Robert.

So for the mostaccoli dish in Italy they would use ricotta cheese.

If you want a lower fat but a little richer feel, put some cottage cheese in this.

Really?

High protein.

Higher protein too.

You can use low fat cheese for this.

We're going to press that down just a little bit.

Yeah.

That customization is really one of the great things about cooking at home.

You get to decide what ingredients you're putting in your recipe and what the health benefits are.

So if we gave you this dish and put you on a boat to Italy and you took it into Rome, man on the street and said, try this.

What would they say?

They would say one thing.

Seriously, they would say one thing.

Pasta dishes in Italy are about the pasta.

Oh.

But it's almost always handmade pasta.

That's another episode for another day.

And pasta dishes in the United States, Italian pasta dishes in the United States are more about the sauce.

And we wanted a dish for this show that is showcasing nutritious and delicious.

So this is the Arkansas Taste Kitchen version of a meal that we would endorse.

Which needs to go in the oven.

All right, here we go.

Now again, how long?

This is going to go about, I don't know, 20 minutes.

20 minutes.

Melt the cheese.

Everything else is cooked all the way through.

And we're just waiting for that chicken, potato and veggie dish as well.

We have two dinners to eat.

I can't wait.

We have doubled our output on this episode of Arkansas Taste Kitchen.

How quick and how easy.

Low stress.

When we come back, we're going to taste this before we go for a quick break.

We do want to mention that we've had help preparing this, so we'd have it ready for your eyes.

The culinary students at the University of Arkansas Pulaski Technical College are among the best in the business.

And so I think a little round of applause.

Everybody at home.

Because when you see what we've got coming back, this is this is going to.

We couldn't do this without them.

No.

It's so weird because on this show, I really get excited for what's about to happen when you bring out the dish and put it right in front of me.

You make it at home and you can eat it.

Man.

There you go.

Now, if you want to know the cost, we'll have it for you.

If you want to know the ingredients, you want to keep up, you can do that on our website.

Arkansas television.

Look for Arkansas Taste Kitchen while I look for the two finished dishes when we come back.

(upbeat music) And we're back on Arkansas Taste Kitchen.

And I'll confess, Chef Robert and Alyssa, I'm a little disappointed.

We went into all that preparation and there's nothing here.

No.

Let me get the first dish out of the oven.

Please.

All right.

I think we're going to start with the sheet pan chicken, veggies and potatoes.

Of the two we fixed, which would I feel better about eating and less guilty about eating?

Feeling guilty around food is not something that we really, an emotion that we really like to have.

So think about the benefits from this particular meal.

I'm thinking about it now.

And then, the separate ones from our Italian pasta bake.

Oh my gosh.

So remember all the things we talked about.

We've got a great source of protein here with the chicken thighs.

Good source of fat as well because we do need those in our diet.

And then we've got our roasted potatoes and our variety of veggies.

I would encourage you to taste the chicken under the skin, maybe pull a little bit of skin back and see how the chicken is without eating the skin at all.

Because I've gotten the.

You got the fat, the flavor has come through the chicken.

And now we peeled away the skin, as Robert has instructed.

See if it lives up to the hype.

It's tender.

It's tender.

Okay.

Smells amazing.

You've kept your jobs.

Is it four yums?

Is it four yums?

For yums.

4.5 Let's check the pasta.

To the point where I don't want anything else.

Don't bring anything else.

This is all going to do.

Man.

Y'all.

Look at that.

Oh, man.

So easy, so simple.

Visit amongst yourselves.

All right.

And now we have the Italian pasta bake.

I mean pasta, cheese, tomato Italian sausage, Italian sausage.

That's a little bit warm.

All right.

I have chef fingers though.

Let me just taste a potato.

Okay.

Okay.

Can I borrow your towel?

Yeah.

Thank you.

It is hot.

Let me just taste it.

I'm just going to dig in to the side here.

And the smell.

The smell of this is like a pizzeria.

Look at that.

Full of veggies.

Got all of our different textures.

All right.

Do I get to taste this one, too?

You do.

Give this one a try.

I've gone from broadcaster to glutton in one magical show.

I love, I love the crispiness on the top.

That is so cool.

Okay.

Four.

You all.

It's brilliant.

It is absolutely brilliant.

This flavor, especially underneath the crust, is unmatched.

What if I made a meal out of both of these?

Well, I'm not going to speak for, I'm not going to speak for Alyssa.

But you did use the term glutton just now.

That might be a little bit heavy, but.

Maybe treat this as your side dish.

Keep in mind that.

A small portion of everything would do okay, right.

I think that would be fine.

Portion size.

Here we go.

Thank you both.

This was wonderful.

Again, you can review it on our website.

Arkansas TV and it's going to be well worth it.

Take it from a man who is now going to go off in a corner somewhere and finish them both.

Thanks for watching Arkansas Taste Kitchen, where if it's nutritious and delicious, if it's affordable and findable and easy to do, it's Arkansas Taste Kitchen.

Additional funding provided by the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.