Chicken Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms

1/2 pound spicy chicken sausage
2 green onions - chopped
1 garlic clove - minced
1/3 cup panko breadcrumbs
3 T mascarpone cheese
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
10 large white button mushrooms

1.  Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.  Brown the chicken sausage in a large pan until no longer pink, breaking it up with your spoon.
2.  While the sausage is browning, remove the stems from your mushrooms and chop the stems finely.
3.  When sausage is browned, add the mushroom stems to the pan and cook until partially done, three minutes or so.
4.  Add the onions and garlic to the pan and cook an additional 2-3 minutes.
5.  Add the panko breadcrumbs to the pan, stirring to combine with the other ingredients.
6.  Add the mascarpone cheese to the pan and stir until fully combined and a little creamy.
7.  Remove from heat and stir in the parmesan cheese.
8.  Stuff your mushrooms (generously!) in a shallow baking dish and bake, uncovered, for 45 minutes or until the tops are slightly browned.

Italian Salad

Dressing
1/4 cup olive oil
1/3 cup greek yogurt
1/8 cup parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 T white wine vinegar
1 small clove garlic- minced
1/2 tsp salt
Black pepper
Pinch of red pepper flake
Juice of 1/2 a lemon

Salad
Romaine Lettuce
Chopped tomatoes
Sliced black olives
Thinly sliced red onion
Sliced Pepperoncini
Parmesan Cheese
Croutons

1.  Shake all ingredients for the dressing in a sealed jar.
2.  Mix desired amount of salad componants with desired amount of dressing and top with parmesan cheese.

Similar to a "lightened" Olive Garden Salad.  Enjoy!

Tomato Feta Olive Bruschetta

6 Roma tomatoes - seeded and diced
20-30 Kalamata and/or green olives - quartered
2/3 cup feta cheese (about 1/2 a block) - diced
2 cloves garlic - minced
1 tsp oregano
Toasted baguette slices

1.  Mix tomatoes, olives, cheese, garlic and oregano in a bowl.  Pour into a baking dish.
2.  Bake uncovered at 450 degrees for 10-15 minutes.
3.  Serve with toasted baguette.

Sorry for the bad picture, I will post a better one next time I make it!

Greek Yogurt Chicken Salad

4-5 chicken breasts
1/2 an onion in chunks
3-4 smashed garlic cloves
3 ribs celery - diced
1.5 cups grapes - halved
3 green onions - chopped
Poaching Spices

1 6oz container Fage Greek yogurt (0% fat)
1/4 cup light Mayo
1 T dijon mustard
1 tsp white wine vinegar
1/2 tsp dried dill
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

1.  Poach the chicken.  Fill a large pot with the chicken and enough water to cover the breasts.  Add the chunks of onion and smashed garlic.  Add 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper and any other spices you have on hand.  I usually throw in whole thyme leaves, dried oregano and whole mustard seed.  Poach the chicken until done, about 25 minutes.
2.  Remove the chicken from the poaching liquid and cool.  Dice the chicken into small pieces when cooled.
3.  Combine all dressing ingredients.
4.  Toss chicken with the celery, grapes and green onions.  Toss with the dressing to coat and enjoy!

Greek Salad

Salad
Tomatoes - cut in chunks (usually 3 or 4 large ones)
Cucumber - Peeled and cut in chunks (usually 2 regular or 1 seedless)
Kalamata olives - halved (usually 1/2 a cup)
Feta cheese- crumbled (usually 3-4 oz)
Green bell pepper (optional) (just 1)
Red onion (optional)

Dressing
1/8 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp dijon mustard
pepper

1.  Combine dressing ingredients in jar and shake.  Toss desired amount of dressing with salad ingredients.

I generally serve with grilled chicken tenders, pita bread and greek yogurt.  Toss tenders with olive oil, garlic powder and oregano.  Then grill.  Mix greek yogurt (Fage is best) with salt, lemon juice and garlic powder.

Shrimp and Grits Bite

Grits
1 cup Polenta
2 Tbsp butter
salt and pepper

Shrimp
1-2 dozen large shrimp
Salt, pepper and olive oil

Sauce
3-4 slices thick cut bacon, chopped
1 shallot - minced
2 cloves garlic - minced
1/2 cup white wine
1 cup chicken broth
1 Tbsp hot sauce
1 Tbsp lemon juice


For the Grit Cakes
1.  In a large, deep sauce pan, bring 4 cups water to boil.  Reduce heat to low, slowly add the polenta and cook, stirring frequently 20 minutes.  Remove from heat and stir in butter, salt and pepper.
2.  Oil a 11x7 sheet pan (half the size of a regular jelly roll pan).  Pour grits on the pan and spread evenly with a spatula.  Allow grits to cool and harden.  Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
3.  When polenta has cooled, slice into desired portions.  I generally slice 1 inch squares.  Place squares on baking sheet covered with cooking spray.  Spray the tops of the squares as well.
4.  Bake for 20 minutes or until crispy.

For the Sauce
1.  Brown bacon in a sauté or sauce pan.  Drain bacon on paper towels, reserving a tiny bit of the grease.
2.  Saute shallot 1-2 minutes.  Add garlic and sauté addition 1 minute.
3.  Add remaining ingredients and simmer until reduced by half, 10-15 minutes.  Stir in reserved bacon.

For the Shrimp
1.  Cook shrimp as desired.  I generally toss with olive oil and pepper and cook in a pan.  Or you can roast at 425 degrees for 8-10 minutes.

To Assemble
1.  Place polenta squares on a plate and top each with a shrimp.  Pour over sauce.  Can garnish with chopped green onion if desired.

Note that the photo below included green onion sautéed with the shallot.  I felt it was too "oniony" so made it a second time without and liked it better.  If you like onion, feel free to add!

Black Bean Quinoa

2 cans black beans - rinsed, drained and dried with paper towel
1 cup quinoa (dry) - cooked to package direction, cooled
1 red bell pepper - chopped
1 green bell pepper - chopped
1 jalapeño - seeded and minced
3 green onion - chopped
1 pint grape tomatoes - quartered
1/2 bunch cilantro - chopped
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp salt
1 lime - juiced
big drizzle of olive oil

Combine all ingredients.  Add red pepper or cayenne if more heat is wanted.  taste for salt.

Dijon Chicken

4 chicken breasts
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup milk (1%, 2%, skim, whatever you have, we generally have 1%)
4 Tbsp + dijon mustard (the real dijon, not the grainy or the combo)
Flour and water combo (generally 2 Tbsp flour and 2 Tbsp water, whatever make a slurry) or Wondra

1.  Sprinkle chicken breast with pepper.  Brown and cook through in a large skillet until done (olive oil or butter works fine).  Remove from pan.
2.  Add chicken broth and milk and cook until bubbly, scraping up any brown bits, about 5 minutes.
3.  Add some of the flour/water mixture (or Wondra) to thicken a bit.  Add additional as needed.  Cook an additional 5 minutes.
4.  Add dijon mustard and melt into broth mixture.  Return chicken to pan and simmer 10 minutes.
5.  Serve with crusty bread to soak up dijon sauce.

Quinoa Salad with Hummus

Quinoa Salad
1.5 cups dry quinoa (I use more than 1 cup but less than 1.5 cups so decide for yourself)
1 english cucumber - seeded and chopped
1 pint grape tomatoes - quartered if large, halved if small
2 red bell peppers - chopped
2 scallions - chopped
1 bunch asparagus - I use as thin as i can find
4 oz crumbled feta cheese
4 oz kalamata olives - chopped (optional)
1/4 bunch cilantro - chopped

Quinoa Dressing
1/8 cup Red Wine Vinegar

1/2 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
1/4 cup (scant) olive oil
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 Tbsp dijon mustard

Hummus
2 19 oz cans garbanzo beans, drained into a bowl, then rinsed
1/2 cup + reserved garbanzo liquid
1/4 cup Tahini
1/8 cup Olive Oil
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
1 tsp salt
1 small garlic clove - minced

To prepare Hummus
Combine all ingredients in a food processor or blender and blend until smooth.  Add additional garbanzo liquid as needed.

To prepare Dressing
Combine all ingredients in a jar and shake.  You will use this whole amount for the quinoa recipe.

To prepare Quinoa
1.  Cook quinoa according to package directions.  This makes over 3 cups of quinoa and I generally use 2.5-3 cups for the recipe.  It is really personal taste as to the quinoa/veggie ratio.  Allow quinoa to cool before combining with the veg.
2.  Roast/Grill/Steam Asparagus as quinoa cooks.  I usually roast or grill.  Allow to cool and cut to bite size pieces.
3.  Chop all the raw veggies while the quinoa and asparagus cook and add to a very large bowl.
4.  When all is cooled, combine veggie, quinoa and dressing and mix well.  Refrigerate until ready to use.
5.  To serve, scoop a large portion of the quinoa into a bowl, hollow out the middle, and place a large dollop of hummus inside.  Serve with pita chips or baked won tons.

Beef with Tomato Gravy

Rustic Rub (this makes enough for 2-3 batches, store in closed container)
1 Tbsp Paprika
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 Tbsp black pepper
1/2 Tbsp garlic powder
1/2 Tbsp onion powder
1/2 Tbsp salt
1/2 Tbsp oregano
1/2 Tbsp thyme

Stew
2 1/2 pounds (more or less) beef stew meat
1/2 cup flour
2 Tbsp Rustic Rub
1 large onion - chopped
1 large green bell pepper - chopped
3 ribs celery - chopped
1 28 oz can diced tomatoes
1 Tbsp garlic - minced
2 bay leaves
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp salt
4 cups beef broth
1/2 cup red wine

1.  Combine flour and 2 Tablespoons of the Rustic Rub in a large bowl.  Toss the meat with the flour until covered.
2.  Heat oil to moderately high heat in a large dutch oven.  Brown meat in batches until brown on all sides, then set aside.  You will need to keep adding oil to prevent burning.
3.  Reduce heat to medium/low.  Cook onion, bell pepper and celery until softened 3-4 minutes.  Add garlic and cook an additional 1 minute.  Add tomatoes, wine, broth and spices.  Add back reserved meat.
4.  Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook covered, 1 hour, stirring occasionally.  Remove lid and cook another 1 hour or until meat is tender and broth has thickened, stirring occasionally.
5 Serve over mashed potatoes or mashed cauliflower with lots of crusty bread.

New Years Day Salsa

Salsa
1 can black eyed peas - drained, rinsed, picked through and patted dry
1 can black beans - drained, rinsed and patted dry
1 small can corn - drained, rinsed and patted dry
2 green onions - chopped
1 bell pepper - chopped (red or green)
1 jalapeno - minced with some seeds (I probably use 1/2-3/4 seeds)
1 can Rotel tomatoes - drained

Dressing
1/8 cup Red Wine Vinegar
1/2 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
1/4 cup (scant) olive oil
1/4 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 Tbsp dijon mustard
pepper

Tostitos

1.  Mix together all salsa ingredients in a bowl.
2.  Whisk together dressing ingredients.
3.  Add Dressing to Salsa and serve with Tostitos