shrimp or shrimp and snow peas

Snow peas and shrimp pictured above

Ingredients

3 tbls of soy sauce

1 tbls cornstarch

1 tbls of ground ginger (I accidentally omitted)

2 tbls of vegetable order

3-5 skinless chicken breasts

2 cloves of garlic

3 cups of snow peas

Plan of Attack

*I edited this recipe to include what I had in my pantry and omitted mushrooms because I don’t like mushrooms)

Whisk together the chicken broth, soy sauce cornstarch and ginger

Heat olive oil in your medium skillet and add garlic. When the garlic is aromatic, add the chicken

Add chicken broth mixture when the chicken has cooked and then add the snow peas. Cook on medium heat until peas are cooked through.

*Variation with shrimp is pretty much the same except you cook the shrimp, remove them, cook the vegetables, and then re-add the shrimp. In the recipe pictured I added yellow bell peppers for some more vegetable loveliness. Then I garnished with diced raw shallots, and in the future I wold use diced scallions instead as garnish. I would, because I love cilantro, also be open to garnishing with cilantro. I missed cilantro in this recipe! I did add the ginger when making the shrimp recipe and it added another level of flavor which was very special!

I made this a while ago but I am just posting now! Sorry snow pea loving public!

pan roasted broccoli and pasta bake

Ingredients

2 cups of broccoli

tsp of cumin

2 tables of olive oil

tsp of kosher salt

11- 13 oz of pasta

0.5 cup of grated parmesan chees

lb of ricotta cheese

0.36 cup of bank bread crumbs

tables of grated lemon peel

tsp of ground pepper

lemon juice

Plan of Attack

Preheat the oven to 390 degrees

Toss the broccoli, olive oil, salt and pepper and place on the baking sheet. Put your baking sheet into the oven and roast until tender and browning on the edges.

Combine the lemon zest, parmesan, and bread crumbs in your medium mixing bowl. *This is the place where you also could add more spices, as I did, like powdered garlic, or heat. I was cooking for some people with particular palates so I did not add to much crushed red pepper, but your could add more than I did.

Remove the pan from the oven, and distribute the ricotta. Cover the entire mixture with parmesan cheese mixture and return to the pan and broil the pan until the cheese melts and develops a beautiful crust.

My comments: I should have broiled the pan for more minutes because it did not get as crunchy as I would have preferred and I would also, heading forward use whole milk ricotta and more parmesan cheese, because I thought this pasta lacked salt.

healthy spring pasta primavera with asparagus and snow peas

*this recipe was originally from the NY Times Cooking section but it was adjusted to reflect what I had in my pantry. A photo will be added today- I am working on this from Ascend so I don’t have access to my photos from this computer

Ingredients

lb of asparagus, ends trimmed and cut into pieces

0.5 lb of snow peas

3-5 pieces of turkey bacon

medium shallot

3-5 medium cloves of garlci

2 tbls of olive oil

medium pat of butter

9 oz (or so) of whole wheat fettucine

0.5 cup of skim milk

0.5 cup of shredded parmesan

cup of part skim ricotta

Plan of Attack

Cut the turkey bacon into sm pieces (big dice) and do the same for the garlic and shallot

Pour a tables of olive oil into your medium skillet and when hot, add the garlic and shallot. After about a minute, add the diced turkey bacon. Cook until the shallots are clear and the bacon starts browning.

Put a pot of salted water on to boil and turn on high.

Add the remaining oil and butter, and then add the asparagus and snow peas.

While the vegetables are cooking, add your fettuccine to the boiling salt water.

If the vegetables are tender before the pasta is done, cover and turn on medium low heat.

When the pasta is done, drain it and reserve some pasta water.

Add the pasta, pasta water, skim milk, ricotta and parmesan cheese to the pan with the vegetables, stirring vigorously over medium heat to allow for the ingredients form their own creamy sauce. Add salt, pepper and powdered garlic as needed and serve hot.

My comments: I had ricotta in my fridge and the original recipe called for heavy cream and pecorino romano cheese, but what I made was flavorful so I recommend it. I would also in the future try the original recipe, but I am trying to incorporate this ricotta in everything before it goes bad!

Isreali couscous with roasted tomatoes and cannelloni beans

ingredients

Pint of grape tomatoes

cup of feta

0.5 cup of shredded parmesan

3 sprigs of oregano

bunch of scallions

2 tsp of balsamic vinegar

1.5 cup of pearl couscous

2 cups of chicken broth

salt and pepper

tsp of cumin

can of cannelloni beans

2-3 medium/massive cloves of garlic

5-6 tsp of olive oil

Cut the tomatoes down the middle, dice the garlic Cloves and finely dice the scallions, Toss with olive oil, balsamic, powdered garlic, salt and pepper.

Evenly pLace the mixture on your rimmed baking dish and put into the oven at 390. I put it in the oven at 450, it started smoking because of the smoking temperature of olive oil.

While the tomatoes are cooking, make the stock. Combine chicken stock, herbs, a clove of garlic into your medium saucepan, and cook until integrated.

Remove the tomatoes form the oven when they’re cooked through, after 15-20 minutes.

Open the cannelloni beans and put into the pan with the tomatoes. Pour the stock into your baking dish, add the couscous and place into the oven. Cook for 25-30 minutes. Remove from the oven when couScous is cooked through and covered with sprinkled Parmesan and feta. Put the pan back in the oven until cheese melts, about 5-6 minutes.

My comments- AWEsome! I will definitely make this again! It was easy, satisfying and delivered fiber, flavor and protein for very little money and effort. Next time I plan on using more parmesan and I am perhaps thinking about additional herbs…

Sheet Pan Sausages and greens

Ingredients

2 sausages (Italian sweet or hot, or both…I am sweet and hot so I seek both in my sausages)

2 cups of raw Cale, trimmed with stems removed

6 tbs of olive oil

2 cups of little potatoes

2 tbls of dijon mustard

2 tbls of honey

3 tbls of red wine vinegar

salt and pepper to taste

powdered garlic to taste

Clean 2 cups of kale into bite sized pieces and remove the stalks

Prheat the oven to 450 degrees

Place your potatoes in a bowl

Toss them with olive Oil, Salt, Pepper and Powedered garlic

score your sausages on all sides

nestle the sausages among the potatoes on your nonstick cooking sheet and put in the oven for 15-20 minutes

while the potatoes and sausage cook, mix the dressing for the kale. Add the honey, vinegar, olive oil, and spice and stir together until completely integrated

Toss the greens in 3 tbs of the dressing and put on the sheet pan. Return the tray to the oven for 5-6 minutes, or until the kale has charred edges

serve hot and drizzle the remaining dressing over the kale.

My comments: I love this dressing and when making again I would double the recipe and coat the potatoes and the greens in the dressing before putting them in the oven, as well as drizzling over both when serving. You could make this with a variety of sausages, but I love italian sausage and it is what I had in the freezer, so happy accident!

Lemon Chicken Breasts with herbs

An lb of chicken

medium lemons sliced thin

2-3 sprigs of rosemary

2 sprigs of sage

5-6 cloves of garlic

salt and pepper

medium sized pat of butter

Clean your chicken breasts, and put all the ingredients in your gallon ziplock bag and wrap so the chicken is completely covered in the marinade

Put 2 tbs of olive in your medium skillet and then cook 3 garlic cloves (diced) until aromatic. then, empty the contents of the gallon bag into the skillet, being careful to put the lemon slices on top of the chicken breasts

Cook until the chicken is cooked through and serve hot covered in lemon slices

Seen here- served (to myself) with sauce of root vegetables.

My comments- This recipe was super simple and it was done in very little time. I used my meat mallet (flat side) to make the chicken pretty consistent width for even cooking, and since they were massive breasts, they took up a considerable amount of space in the pan.

Tuna Melt Quesadillas

On a subzero day, I discovered this and oh man, what a comfort food!

Ingredients

can of tunafish (white/albacore) - I used bumblee

2 tbls of mayonnaise

medium pan sized flour quesadillas

shredded (preshreded or shred your own) cheddar cheese

for garnish - barbecue sauce or salsa

pat of butter

Placed shredded cheese on the left side of the quesadilla

Prepare the tunafish by mixing tuna and may. Who I make tuna sandwiches I have my own concoction including shallots at times and B&G relish, but for this recipe I made it straight up deli style with tuna and mayonnaise. Place 2-3 spoonfuls of tuna on top of the cheese.

Put your butter in your medium skillet, and cook until the pan is hot. Fold the side of quesadilla over to cover the insides and place in the pan. Allow for the quesadilla to cook and for the cheese to melt, flipping the quesadilla on both side to allow for even cooking.

Cut into triangle pizza slice shaped slices and serve. Salsa is pictured, but often I drizzle with barbecue sauce, for some country twang. I might start singing songs like “I shaved my legs for this” if I use to much barbecue, so I am very controlled with my garnishing, because I might relate too closely to “I shave my legs for this?” for comfort.

Rao's almost marinara sauce

I have always loved their sauce and this is my attempt at making my own!

Ingredients

2 oz of salt pork sliced into slim slices

2 30 oz cans of crushed tomatoes (I opted for the canned peeled Rao’s brand tomatoes with basil added because I knew the whole tomatoes would cook down

0.25 cup of olive oil

0.5 onion diced

3-5 garlic cloves, diced

tbls of Italian Seasoning

Basil (6 leaves) diced - optional

Add the olive oil and salt pork to your stockpot

Cook the salt pork until cooked through and juices have rendered. Remove the salt pork and discard.

Add the onions and cook until aromatic and clear. Then add the garlic and cook until it is browning but not burnt.

Add your tomatoes and cooke for 40-60 minutes. After sauce has integrated, add the Italian seasoning (or straight oregano if this is what you’re using) and cook for an additional 5-6 minutes. Taste and add salt and pepper according to your tastes.

My comments: I plan on using for pizza so it was important the whole tomatoes cooked down. I was gonna make stuffed shells, but I didn’t

Michelle Obama's Sugar Cookies

I made this recipe for these cookies for the holiday season and ma just posting the recipe now!

Ingredients

Cup of margarine

3/2 cup of sugar

3 eggs

tsp of vanilla

7/3 cup of sugar

2 tsp of cream of tartar

0.5 tsp of salt

Plant of Attack

Preheat the oven to 270 degrees

Soften the margarine and cream together the sugar, eggs and margarine

Mix the other ingredients throughly and add the mixture at a measured pace, stirring after each addition

Refrigerate the dough an hour up to overnight

Using your rolling pin, roll the copies out and cut your shapes using your cookie cutters.

Place cookies on a parchment lined baking sheet and cook for 9-13 minutes, checking frequently. Don’t allow to over cook. Cool your cookies throughly before frosting and decorating! Enjoy!

Mix the other ingredients in your medium mixing bowl

Crockpot Chicken and white bean chili

Ingredients

2 cans of white beans, preferably cannellini

2 lb of boneless and skinless chicken breasts

can of diced roast green chilis

Medium spanish onion (diced)

can of corn (optional)

tbls of cumin

6 cups of chicken stock ( I made my own and added 3 packets of Goya chicken seasoning )

3-5 medium carrots, coined

2-6 cloves of garlic peeled and diced

medium jalapeno, cored, seeded and diced

sprinkling of crushed red pepper

To garnish:

shredded cheese, cilantro, salsa, crema, etc…

Plan of attack

Trim the chicken breasts of additional gristle and add them to the crockpot covered with chicken stock, vegetable and spices.

Cook chicken on high for 3-5 hours, depending on your crockpot. Cooked them in the middle amount of time.

Turn off crockpot and shred the chicken, being careful because the mixture will be very hot.

Add the beans (and corn if using) and cook for an additional 30 minutes.

Quick and easy mustard salmon with asparagus

Ingredients

medium bunch of asparagus

3 tbls of olive oil

salt and pepper

powdered garlic

2-3 generous tbls of Dijon mustard

paprika

optional- herbs of your choosing

lb of salmon, defrosted

panko ( I made my own mistake accidentally did not use the panko)

Plan of attack

preheat the oven at 270 degrees

trim the asparagus

Toss the asparagus with olive oil and season with salt, pepper and garlic

place the asparagus on the left side of your sheet pan and set your kitchen timer to 5-6 minutes.

put the asparagus in the oven

portion your salmon into 2 steaks

spread the mustard on the top of the salmon, season with salt and pepper and then dust with paprika.

season with salt and pepper and then dust with paprika.

when your kitchen timer has expired, put your salmon onto the pan with the asparagus, skin side down. Cook for 15-20 minutes or until the salmon is cooked through.

My Comments: This recipe included coating the salmon with Panko and I will try this in the future, but I was concerned because the salmon was still frozen in the middle and I thought it would cook more evenly without it.

Gingerbread Houses

Royal Icing

5-8 egg whites

2 cups of powdered sugar

tsp of cream of tartar

Plan of Attack

Whip the egg whites and cream of tartar until sm peaks form

Gradually add in the powdered sugar; Store covered in your refrigerator.

* I used another gingerbread recipe than I have used in the past and I think you have to know what your house pattern looks like before deciding on a recipe. I should have use my rolling pi to make the gingerbread pieces thinner to make it easier to assemble!

Healthy Fettucine Alfredo with Shrimp

Ingredients

cup of hard fettuccine pasta (I used whole wheat pasta)

sm crown of broccoli

lb of shrimp (shrimp peeled and deveined)

tbls of butter

tbls of olive il

5-6 cloves of garlic

ground Kosher sea salt and pepper

tbls of flour

2 cups of low fat milk

2-3 tbls of cream cheese

0.25 cup of grated parmesan cheese

Add the butter and oil to your medium skillet and when hot add the diced garlic. When garlic is aromatic, add the shrimp

Cook until the shrimp are cooked through. While shrimp is cooking cook the pasta in hot salted boil water.

Put the shrimp aside and in the drippings, add the flour.

Cook until flour id done browning and then whisk in milk, cheese, cream cheese, butter, and optional salt and pepper. While the sauce is cooking, add the chopped broccoli to the stockpot when the pasta is almost al dente and cook until bright green. Drain the pasta, reserving some pasta water and then pour the pasta, reserved pasta water and broccoli into the sauce. Mix throughly and then add the shrimp, mixing everything to coat the broccoli, shrimp and pasta. Serve hot and covered in grated parmesan.

Simple Salmon Marinade

Ingredients

2 tbs of soy sauce

tsp of honey

powdered garlic (to taste)

0.5 tsp of ground ginger

pepper

tsp of orange juice

ground pepper

Plan of Attack

Mix all ingredients together throughly and pour over salmon; Refrigerate for an hour ***I added too much honey, so the marinade was sweeter than I would have liked. I would also say, if making again I would add some dijon mustard. This marinade covered 2 portion sized salmon pieces I made for myself for my own little lonely feast of my 7 fishes.

Morrocan Spiced lentil soup

Ingredients

3 stalks of celery

medium Spanish onion

2 medium carrots

3-5 tbls of olive oil

0.5 tsp of ground tumeric

tsp of cumin

red chili flakes

bunch of cilantro

15 oz can of crushed tomatoes (I used diced tomatoes with Italian Seasoning)

can of chickpeas

cup of green lentils (I could only find red)

tsp of ground pepper

salt to taste

7 cups of chicken stock (6-8 depending on your stovetop temperature)

add the oil to the medium skillet and wen hot, add the diced carrots, celery and onions. Cook until aromatic and soft.

When cooked, add the tomatoes and chicken stock

Add the spices, and cook for 15-22 minutes. Then add the chickpeas and the lentils. The lentils absorb liquid so it might be necessary to add more liquid to the skillet.

Serve hot (I added the welcome addition of grated cheese on top of the hot soup and it was awesome…If the soup goes mor-rockin, they’ll come a-knockin’)

Beef and Barley stoup....

LB - 1.25 lb of cubed stew beef

3 carrots (peeled and diced)

medium Spanish onion )diced)

3 stalks of celery (diced)

2 cloves of garlic

6 cups of beef broth/stock (I used Goya beef bouillon and water)

2 bay leaves

cup of quick cook barley (Quaker Oats brand)

ground pepper

Plan of Attack

Add the oil to your medium stockpot and then add the beef, cook until browned and coked through.

Remove the beef and set aside.

Add the carrots, onions and celery to the stockpot. Cook throughly.

Add the beef broth and cook thoroughly. Add the beef back in and then add the bay leaves. Cook until beef is very tender.

When the beef is tender and the soup has integrated, add the quick barley and cook for 9-13 minutes more. Remove from heat and the barley will absorb more liquid after cooked, even after removed form the heat. You might have to add more liquid to the soup to have a worthy based soup.

If I was in a joke making mood, I would say this shtoup is so good, it might get ya schlepped, but I am not in a joking mood and mine did not get me shtupped….actually, I feel like recently I have been made to look very shtupid…

Sausage and Sweet Potato savory sweet rad-violi

Filling ingredients

Meat filling

0.25 lb of ground beef

2 sausage (I added chorizo) links, casing removed

0.25 lb ground pork

medium shallot

3 sprigs of Rosemary

5-6 loves of garlic

Sweet potato filling

2 medium sweet potatoes

tbls of butter

tsp of cumin

tsp of brown sugar

tsp of nutmeg

salt and pepper (to taste)

Ravioli Dough

(prepared according to earlier instructions on this site for radvili

This recipe is for overstuffed, filled to the brim with harvest-ness ravioli

Prepare the filling

Prepare the ravioli dough and put it aside, to set for about an hour.

Add olive oil to your medium skillet and when hot add diced shallots and diced garlic. Cook until aromatic and then add the pork, beef and sausage, mashing the entire time to integrate all the meat. Cook on medium heat until everything is cooked. Misway between cooked and raw, add the rosemary crushed between your fingers.

While the meat cooks, prep the sweet potato filling.

Peel and cube the sweet potatoes (I left the skins on, but honestly, trust and believe I should have take the time to peel them). Put them in your medium saucepan of boiling salted water until cooked.

When cooked through, add the butter, brown sugar, cumin, nutmeg and salt and pepper, and mash with your masher or, if you’re feeling very angry, your fist. I was feeling angry, but I am my own version of a real lady so I refrained from punching the sweet potatoes. Mix everything together. Mix the meat and sweet potato filling to incorporate everything, and put aside.

Flour your workspace ( I didn’t and I paid for it!)

Run the ravioli dough through on your manual pasta maker 7 (2 times), 6 (3 times), 5 (3 times), 3 (5 times) and 2 (3-5 times), to create two ribbons of ravioli dough, each of approximately the same length. Spoon 6 mounds of filling on to the ravioli dough and place the other ribbon of ravioli filling on top, and then cut into size massive, feast sized ravioli. Using your fork, press the sides, so they are established ravioli.

Heat your stockpot with an appropriate amount of salted water and when boiling, add the ravioli, individually. When they rise to the top, they’re completely cooked and serve either with sage butter, rosemary butter, basil butter, or as I did, with marinara.

Leek, carrot, and potato frittata

Ingredients

8 eggs

2-3 tbls of olive oil

leek

2-3 carrots

medium spanish onion

5-6 cloves of garlic

2 tbls of butter

medium potato

3 tbls of ground pepper

0.25 cup of milk

Slice the potatoes into thin coils horizontally

Add salt to 3 cups of water in your medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the potato

Clean and dice/coin the carrots, garlic cloves and leek.

Add the olive oil and garlic to your medium skillet

Add the carrots and leeks to the hot skillet- I also added a tbls of butter the second time I made this recipe, and I used Rosemary infused olive pil instead of traditional olive oil.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Drain the potatoes when they’re cooked through and put aside. Whisk the eggs and 0.25 cup of milk, add salt and pepper and then pour with your measured hand, into the cast iron skillet. Use a stove safe spoon to thoroughly mix ingredients. When cooked on the bottom, add the potato slices to the top of the skillet and cover in shredded cheese ( I used shredded cheddar)

Put the entire frittata in the oven and cook until completely set. Take the skillet out and turn off the oven. Season the top with ground pepper and powdered garlic, and season with salt on top individually.

Jambalaya

MMMmmm….

Ingredients

3 sausage links (I used chorizo)

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts

lb of medium shrimp, deveined, defrosted and with tails removed

2 stalks of celebry

medium green bell pepper

medium yellow onion

2-3 tbls of olive oil

2 tbls of cajun/creole seasoing

bay leaf

tsp of cayenne

medium jalapeno pepper (seeded and cored)

Cup (or so) of rice

2 14 oz cans of crushed tomatoes

2 cups of chicken broth

ground pepper

3-5 cloves of garlic

powdered garlic

Plan of Attack

Coin your sausage and clean the chicken breasts of fat and sinew. Slice the chicken into medium same sized pieces. Pour a teaspoon of oil into your medium skillet and when hot, add the sausage and chicken, stirring frequently and cook until both are cooked thoroughly.

While the chicken and sausage are cooking, dice the onions, garlic, jalapeno, celery and green bell pepper.

Pictured above- Chicken and sausage cooked through

Remove the chicken and sausage (once cooked) from the skillet with your slotted spoon. Put them aside in your mixing bowl. Add the onions, garlic, green bell pepper, jalapeno and celery into the pan with the drippings and cook until aromatic and the onions are clear.

Add the tomatoes, chicken stock, spices and shrimp to the skillet, mixing throughly. Cook the shrimp until they are visibly done.

While the tomato mixture is cooking, cook your rice in a medium saucepan according to package directions (This is an adjustment from my recipe, but it is what I wished I did)

When the shrimp have cooked, under medium low heat, add the chicken and sausage to the mixture. Keep on low to integrate all the seasonings and add the rice when it is cooked. Stir and serve hot.

My Comments: I have adjusted to accommodate my rice suggestion. I ended up adding a scattering of sugar to cut the heat a little bit and adding a little bit of water midway though the cooking but I also think adding the water wouldn’t have necessary, if I had cooked the rice in its own pot. It was very good and this recipe makes a serious amount of jambalaya…

I brought some to my nieces and my Fiona said “I like Jambalaya” and my niece Tierney said “I don’t like shrimp” - I replied the shrimp are little and you won’t even know they’re in there.” This being said, next time I might opt for the next size up of shrimp so they don’t cook down too much.

Coconut Macaroons

The original recipe called for 14 oz of coconut and 14 oz of sweetened condensed milk, but I am on a budget so I used 7 oz of coconut and adjusted the recipe accordingly…

Ingredients

7 oz of shredded coconut

7 oz of Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk

tsp of vanilla

tsp of salt ( or so)

2 medium eg whites (room temperature)

Plan of Attack

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees

Combine the milk, vanilla and coconut in your medium mixing bowl. Integrate completely.

Add the egg white of 2 medium eggs and turn on your mixer on high and whip until medium peaks form.

Fold the eg whites into the coconut mixture. Mix the ingredients throughly and then place even handed spoon sized amounts on parchment covered baking sheets and cook for 20-25 minutes, checking regularly.

My oven runs hot and I overcooked 6 of my cookies and 6 are as they should be…Bummer…