QUICK MEALS FOR UNEXPECTED HOLIDAY GUESTS
from the American Institute for Cancer Research

Visits from friends and relatives are one of the best parts of the holiday season, but when unexpected guests arrive around mealtime, it's a real challenge to whip up something that's both festive and wholesome. So don't be caught unprepared. Keep your pantry stocked with healthful staples and keep some recipes handy for quick-to-fix holiday meals.

Make sure to keep these basics in your pantry, refrigerator, or freezer: canned beans, pita bread, whole wheat tortillas, olive oil, canned tomatoes, canned soups, salad dressing, salsa, spaghetti sauce, pasta, frozen vegetables and non-fat, low-sodium broth. Keep a few specialty items on hand as well, like marinated artichoke hearts and roasted red peppers.

Ready-to-use frozen stir-fry vegetables can be a lifesaver. They allow you to stretch the meat you planned to serve while providing a colorful, flavorful and healthy entrée. Flash-frozen in the field right after they are picked, frozen vegetables often have as much, or more, nutrients than fresh produce that's been sitting around for a while.

Frozen shrimp are perfect for elegant dishes that come together in a flash. Prepare a delicious paella made with rice, chicken bouillon, tomatoes, zucchini, peppers (or a bag of frozen Italian-style vegetables), onion, olive oil and shrimp. Use shrimp in a salad platter featuring canned cannelloni (white kidney beans), slivered red onion, thin-sliced celery and coarsely chopped parsley on a bed of lettuce leaves. Dress with a light vinaigrette and garnish with tomato wedges.

Everyone will love this flavorful and attractive tarragon chicken dish, which is a snap to prepare in a microwave.

Quick Chicken with Julienne Vegetables

In a microwave-safe baking dish that is just large enough to hold chicken in a single layer, place half the vegetables, using some of each type. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Season chicken with salt and pepper and place on top of vegetables. Top with remaining vegetables. Dot with butter. Sprinkle with tarragon, salt and pepper to taste.

Lightly cover dish with wax paper and microwave on High until chicken is tender but no longer pink, about 6 minutes if boneless, 8 to 10 minutes if bone-in. Drizzle with honey mustard sauce, if desired, and serve.

Makes 4 servings, each containing 199 calories and 6 grams of fat.

APPEALING APPETIZERS FOR NEW YEAR CELEBRATIONS
from the American Institute for Cancer Research

With New Year celebrations fast approaching, party-givers can always use a few new ideas for hors d'oeuvres that are festive, tasty and easy to make. Today, when many guests are health and diet conscious, appetizers should also be high in flavor but low in fat. High-fat dairy products have given way to silky bean and vegetable purées. Reduced fat and non-fat sour cream has given a new dimension to spreads and dips. Cooking techniques like oven "frying" allow preparation of crispy treats while eliminating much of the fat.

Planning how many kinds of hors d'oeuvres and how much of each to serve can be challenging. One rule of thumb for a two-hour party is to prepare six to eight types of hors d'oeuvres and two to three of each variety per guest. The longer the party, the more you should make, both in volume and variety. Be sure that, as a group, they balance spicy and mild, hot and cold, smooth and crunchy.

Many of the most flavorful and nutritious appetizers have an international inspiration. Offer guests quesadillas from Mexico, bruschetta from Italy and skewers of meat and seafood, called satés, from Southeast Asia.

Make low-fat chicken nuggets by cutting skinless, boneless breasts into diamond-shaped chunks and marinating them in a mixture of soy sauce, rice vinegar, honey and minced garlic. Dip each nugget in lightly-beaten egg white and then coat with a mixture of dried breadcrumbs and equal amounts of white and black sesame seeds. Place in a single layer on a baking sheet sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Bake at 350 degrees until golden brown, then serve at once with a spicy mustard sauce.

Prepare a platter of toasted bread rounds topped with colorful red and yellow roasted peppers, and sprinkle with a little crumbled blue cheese. Or, stuff mushroom caps with a cooked mixture of chopped walnuts, sun-dried tomatoes, mashed potato, minced mushroom stems, onion and garlic, and red pepper flakes. Heap each mushroom cap with filling and bake until the mushrooms are tender (about 20 minutes at 350 degrees).

Carrot and Red Lentil Pâté

Heat oil in large saucepan over medium-high heat. Sauté carrots, onion and garlic until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes.

Add lentils, orange zest, orange juice, rosemary and broth or water. Bring just to a boil, cover, reduce heat and simmer until carrots are soft and lentils are mushy, about 20 minutes.

Transfer contents of pan to bowl of a food processor. Purée mixture. Crumble in tofu and process until completely blended. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Pack pâté into a serving bowl or crock and cool almost to room temperature. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve. This pâté can be made 2 to 3 days ahead. Serve pâté with crackers as an hors d'oeuvre. Pâté can also be used to stuff celery sticks or, as a first course, served on a bed of soft lettuce leaves like Bibb. Makes 2 cups or about 10 servings, each containing 64 calories and 2 grams of fat.

AICR offers the AICR Nutrition Hotline (1-800-843-8114). Open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET, Monday-Friday, this free service allows you to ask a registered dietitian your questions regarding diet, nutrition and cancer. AICR's Web address is www.aicr.org. The American Institute for Cancer Research is the only major cancer charity focusing exclusively on the link between diet, nutrition and cancer. The Institute provides a wide range of consumer education programs that have helped millions of Americans learn to make changes for lower cancer risk. AICR also supports innovative research in cancer prevention and treatment at universities, hospitals and research centers across the U.S. The Institute has provided more than $55 million in funding for research in diet, nutrition and cancer.

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