Minestrone Soup

1 onion - diced
3 ribs celery - diced
3 cloves garlic - minced
2 zucchini - diced
1/4 pound green beans, or 1 can no salt added green beans, or frozen
1/2 head green cabbage - shredded
1 bunch kale - stems removed, roughly chopped
1 28oz can crushed tomatoes with basil (I like Muir Glen)
12 cups chicken stock
2 bay leaves
2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp red pepper flakes
3/4 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp pepper
Parmesan rinds*
1 cup dried pasta

1.  Saute onion, celery, garlic, and zucchini in olive oil until partially cooked, approx. 5 minutes.  Include green beans if raw.
2.  Add green beans, cabbage, and kale and saute until cabbage is wilted, approx. 3 minutes.
3.  Add remaining ingredients except pasta.  Cover and simmer 45 minutes.
4.  Add pasta and cook additional 15 minutes or until pasta is cooked.
5.  Salt to taste.
6.  Serve topped with parmesan cheese.

*You can find these in the cheese section of most grocery stores.  I recently found at Whole Foods.

Slow Cooker Chicken Curry

8-10 chicken thighs
1 14oz can tomato sauce
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 14oz can lite coconut milk
2 medium sweet potatoes - peeled and cubed
1 onion - diced
2 broccoli crowns - cut in florets (or 1 bag pre cut broccoli)
2 cloves garlic - minced
2 T curry powder
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp salt

Brown Rice and greek yogurt

1.  Mix all ingredients in a slow cooker.  Cook on low for 7-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours.
2.  Serve over brown rice and topped with plain greek yogurt (if desired).

The broccoli tends to overcook if it is in the crock pot the entire time.  I try to add the broccoli 1/2 or 2/3 the way through the cooking time.  But... add it at the beginning if you are not able to add later.  Put it in the pot last and leave on the top chicken mixture to steam rather than stew.

Mexican Chicken and Veggie Casserole

3-4 chicken breasts
Green salsa verde
1 can green chilis
2 zucchini- diced
2 green bell pepper- diced
1 large onion - diced
1 bottle Enchalada sauce (Trader Joes is good)
1 envelope Trader Joe's taco seasoning (or other with no additives)
Corn tortillas
Shredded Mexican cheese
Pickled jalapeños for serving

1.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Sprinkle chicken with a little taco seasoning.  Roast in oven 20-30 mins or until cooked.
2.  While chicken cooks, sauté veggies in a large pan/pot.  Add 1-2 tablespoons taco seasoning when veggies are partially tender.  Cook veggies until fully tender.
3.  Remove the chicken from the oven and turn oven up to 400 degrees.
4.  Shred the chicken and place in a bowl.  Toss chicken with salsa verde and green chilis.
5.  Assemble casserole.  Spread thin layer of enchalada sauce on the bottom of your dish.  Place one layer of tortillas on sauce.  You may have to cut a few to fit them in.  Spoon in a layer of the veggies and a layer of chicken. Sprinkle with a little cheese.
6.  Repeat layer with tortillas, sauce, veggies, chicken and cheese.
7.  Repeat final layer as previous.  Cover with foil sprayed with cooking spray.
8.  Bake 20 mins covered and 10 mins uncovered.
9.  Serve with pickled jalapeños, avocado and whatever else you like.

Blue Cheese and Bacon Slaw

These measurements are approximate.  We eat this all week so I buy 3 bags of slaw and make 2 ziploc bags of the mixture, which makes a lot.  This recipe is for half of what we make.

Slaw

1.5 bags of tricolor slaw (with green cabbage, red cabbage and carrot)

2 large handfuls of red cabbage - finely chopped (half a really small head or 1/3 large)

2 green onions - chopped

1/2 medium bunch cilantro - chopped

Garnish

Crumbled Bacon

Crumbled Blue Cheese

Dressing

http://justthegrubklm.blogspot.com/2013/07/dijon-salad-dressing.html

1/8 cup white balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup (scant) olive oil

1 T dijon mustard (regular not grainy)

1/2 tsp honey

1/8 tsp salt

1.  Put all slaw ingredients in a gallon size ziploc bag.  Shake to mix.

2.  Combine desired amounts of slaw, bacon, blue cheese and dressing and mix to combine.

For the entire bag of slaw, I would say probably 6+ slices of thick cut bacon (from deli counter), a 4oz + container of blue cheese and all the dressing.  The more the bacon/cheese/dressing the better, but obviously a personal choice!

Chicken Rub for Green Egg (or grill)

2 T smoked paprika
2 T salt
2 T onion powder
1 T cayenne pepper
1 T cumin
2 tsp dried whole thyme
2 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp pepper

For the green egg, we spatchcock the chicken (take the backbone out and lay it flat).  Rub thoroughly with rub outside and under skin.  Cook for 1 hour at 350 degrees, flipping once.

We also rub chicken legs that have been skinned.  45 mins at 350 degrees on the egg flipping once.

Roasted Tomato Soup

12-16 Campari tomatoes - halved and seeded
2 red bell peppers - seeded and quartered
1 yellow onion - peeled and quartered
8 cloves garlic - separated but in paper
2 T Balsamic Vinegar
3 T Olive oil (divided)
6-8 cups stock (chicken or vegetable)
1 6oz can tomato paste
Fresh Thyme (optional, few sprigs)
Fresh Basil (1 whole container or bunch, to taste)
Salt and Pepper

1.  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Toss the tomatoes, peppers, onion, and garlic cloves with 2 T olive oil and 2 T balsamic vinegar.  Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and thyme leaves if using.
2.  Roast vegetables in the oven until charred in spots, 35-45 minutes.
3.  Heat remaining tablespoon of olive oil in a dutch oven over medium heat.  Add the tomato paste and cook a couple minutes to cook out the tin can taste.
4.  Add the roasted veg, stock and basil leaves to the dutch oven.  Bring to a boil, reduce to low, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
5.  Puree the mixture with an immersion blender.  Continue to cook to desired consistency.
6.  Salt - Taste the soup first then add.  I start with 1 tsp.  Stir it in and let it simmer for a couple minutes.  Taste again.  You might add an additional half tsp or full or none depending on desired amount and whether you used low sodium broth.
7.  Serve with a grilled cheese sandwich or cheese toast, of course.

(garlic missing in this photo)

Fajita Steak Marinade

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup lime juice

1/4 cup olive oil

1/8 cup packed brown sugar

1 tsp ground cumin

1/2 T chili powder

1 large garlic clove - minced

pepper

Marinate your steak, the longer the better!

Asian Pork Tenderloin

Pork tenderloin usually comes in a bag of 2.  I usually marinate them separately, each in a gallon size freezer bag.  This is the marinade per bag, so double if marinating together.

1 pork tenderloin

Marinade

2 tsp olive oil

2 T finely chopped onion

4 T hoisin sauce (found in Asian section of grocery store)

4 T soy sauce

2 tsp sesame oil

1 tsp Sriracha sauce

1/4 tsp onion powder

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1.  Combine marinade and pork in a ziploc bag and marinate 3-4 hours or as long as possible.

2.  Grill pork and serve.

Jerk Spiced Shrimp

The Rub

1 T Sugar

1 T Paprika

1/2 tsp Salt

1/2 tsp Garlic Powder

1/2 tsp Cayenne Pepper

1/4 tsp Thyme

1/8 tsp ground Allspice

Shrimp

Olive oil

1.  Toss the shrimp with olive oil then coat in the Rub to taste.

2.  Cook shrimp as preferred, I generally cook in a skillet, 2 minutes per side depending on the size of the shrimp.

3.  The shrimp are good on a salad or as an appetizer.  

Shown here: Toss 1 avocado with juice of 1 lime, salt and red pepper flakes.  Toast halved won ton wrappers coated in cooking spray, 10 minutes at 350 degrees.  Cut shrimp in thirds (mine were big).  

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!

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.

Miso Glazed Fish

1/4 cup Mirin
1/4 cup Sake
3 Tbsp white or yellow miso paste
1 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp sesame oil
4 6 oz pieces of firm fish - Cod, Salmon, Mahi

1.  Combine the mirin and sake in the smallest saucepan you have and bring to a boil over high heat. Boil 20 seconds, taking care not to boil off much of the liquid, then turn the heat to low and stir in the miso and the sugar. Whisk over medium heat without letting the mixture boil until the sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat and whisk in the sesame oil. Allow to cool. Transfer to a wide glass or stainless steel bowl or baking dish.
2. Pat the fish fillets dry and brush or rub on both sides with the marinade, then place them in the baking dish and turn them over a few times in the marinade remaining in the dish. Cover with plastic wrap and marinate for 2 to 3 hours, or for up to a day.
3.  To cook the fish, broil on high heat 2-3 minutes per side until cooked through.

Beef Chili

2 lb 96/4 Lean Ground Beef (or as lean as you can find)
1 Large Yellow Onion - diced
1 jalapeno - minced, seeds included
1 28 oz can whole tomatoes
3 cloves garlic - minced
4 oz tomato paste
10 oz beer (Pale Ale or Lager)
1.5 Tbsp Chili Powder
1/2 Tbsp Oregano
1/2 Tbsp cumin
1/2 tsp Dry Mustard

1.  Brown your meat in a dutch oven until cooked.  Drain and set aside.
2.  Saute onion until partially done, 5-7 minutes.  Add jalapeno, saute an additional 2-3 minutes.  Add garlic and saute 1-2 minutes.
3.  Add tomato paste to the veggies and cook 1-2 minutes.  I think this cooks out the "tin" flavor of tomato paste.
4.  Add Beer and cook the alcohol out a bit, 1-2 minutes.
5.  Add tomatoes.  Break whole tomatoes up by squishing them with your hand.
6.  Add meat back to pan, add remaining spices and cook, covered, 45 minutes.  Stir occasionally.
7.  Remove cover and cook an additional 15-20 minutes until desired consistency.
8.  Serve with your favorite accompaniments!

Grilled Scallops with Smashed Peas

6 large scallops  (more or less to serve number of people, peas serve approx 4 people)
2 bags frozen peas
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/2 yellow onion - diced
1 clove garlic - minced
chicken stock
Salt and Pepper

Peas
1.  Cook peas in boiling water according to package directions, drain and set aside.
2.  While peas are cooking, saute the onion in olive oil until almost opaque 4-5 minutes.  Add garlic and saute until both garlic and onion are cooked, approximately 6-7 minutes.
3.  In a food processor, puree 1/2 of the cooked peas, parmesan cheese and 1/4 cup chicken stock.
4.  In a sauce pan, combine remaining whole peas, pureed peas, and onion garlic mixture.  Heat until warmed through.  If made ahead, you might need to add a bit more stock to the mixture when re-heated.  Keep in mind that a little stock goes a long way in this recipe.
5.  Season with salt to taste (cheese and stock have salt so you might not need any) and lots of pepper.

Scallops
1.  Dry scallops with paper towels to remove any excess moisture.  Brush scallops with a little olive oil and season with pepper.
2.  Grill scallops on high heat until desired doneness, 2-3 minutes per side.

Serve scallops on bed of peas with crusty bread if desired.

Freezer Burritos

1 pound 96/4 lean ground beef
1 small onion - chopped
1 green bell pepper - chopped
1 large zucchini - chopped
1/2 jalapeno (or more), seeded and minced
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
2 cans diced tomatoes with green chilis (if you can find, Trader Joes has them), drained of excess water.
1 tsp oregano
1.5 tsp cumin
1.5 tsp chili powder
Large tortillas - Burrito size or wrap size
Shredded Cheese

1.  Brown meat in a large saute pan until no longer pink.  Drain on paper towels and set aside.
2.  Wipe out pan and add a drizzle of olive oil.  Saute peppers 1-2 minutes.  Add onion, zucchini and jalapeno and saute until vegetables are tender.
3.  Add tomatoes, beans and reserved meat.  Add spices and simmer a few minutes until spices are absorbed and most of the water evaporates.
3.  Put a large scoop of filling into tortilla, sprinkle with a little cheese.  Fold up 2 edges and then roll the burrito.  Wrap in aluminum foil.
4.  Put burritos in a large ziploc bag and freeze.

To reheat, remove from foil, wrap in a paper towel and microwave on high for 3 minutes, then bake at 425 for 10 minutes or until crisp.

Hoisin Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Hoisin BBQ Sauce
2/3 cup Hoisin Sauce (found in Asian section)
2 Tbsp Seasoned rice wine vinegar
1 Tbsp White wine vinegar
3 Tbsp low sodium soy sauce
3 Tbsp Ketchup
1 Tbsp honey
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 tsp + red pepper flakes (to taste, I generally add at least 2)

6 Chicken Thighs - trimmed of excess fat
Bibb Lettuce

1.  Mix all ingredients of the BBQ sauce in a bowl.
2.  Marinate the chicken thighs in 1/2 the sauce for at least 2 hours, can be longer or overnight.  Reserve remaining sauce for basting and serving.
3.  Grill the chicken thighs until done basting on each side with 1/4 of remaining sauce (or more depending on how big your thighs are).
4.  Allow chicken to rest a couple minutes after grilling, then slice chicken in 1/2 inch strips.
5.  Serve chicken with extra sauce and lettuce cups to build a wrap.

**I always serve this with my Asian Slaw (see recipe in blog) as a topper to the lettuce wraps.  Just chopped cabbage for crunch would work as well.  The BBQ sauce is pretty powerful so not much is needed.
**Recipe serves 2+.  Thighs generally come in packages of 6.  I have done 12 thighs with a recipe and a half of the sauce and it works fine, just not much left for serving (a full jar of Hoisin can make roughly 1.5 batches of sauce).

Gnocchi with Sausage and Kale

1 17oz package Gnocchi (whole wheat or white)
2 Spicy Italian Sausages (Pork, turkey or chicken)
1/2 yellow onion - chopped
4 cloves garlic - minced
1/4 cup dry white wine
1-2 heads curly kale, stems removed and roughly torn
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
Pinch of red pepper flakes
1/3 cup pasta water
Olive oil
salt and pepper

1.  Remove sausage from casings and crumble into a large pan over medium heat.  Brown sausage.  Remove and drain on paper towels.  Wipe residual oil from pan.
2.  In the meantime boil water for gnocchi.  Gnocchi will take about 3 minutes to cook.  After it is finished cooking, drain gnocchi, reserving 1/3 cup of the starchy pasta water.
3.  Heat olive oil over medium heat.  Saute onion until clear, about 4-5 minutes.  Add garlic and saute a minute or so more.
4.  Add the kale, wine and red pepper flakes and cook down until kale is wilted.  Add back reserved sausage.
5.  Add 1/3 cup of starchy pasta water to mixture and stir, creating a thin sauce.
6.  Off the heat, stir in the cheese and season with pepper (i rarely add salt, parmesan is salty enough).
7.  Serve, garnished with more parmesan.

Arugula and White Bean Salad

Salad
1 can Cannellini beans (white beans) - drained and rinsed thoroughly
1/2 pint grape tomatoes - halved
2 oz arugula (a couple big handfuls)
1/2 cup kalamata olives - chopped (chopped after measuring)
8 leaves basil - chopped

Dressing
Zest of 1 lemon
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1 tbsp olive oil
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

1.  Mix beans, tomatoes, olives and basil in a bowl.
2.  Whisk together zest, juice, olive oil, S&P in a bowl.
3.  Toss Step 1 with Step 2.
4.  Before serving, add arugula and toss well.

*** This salad is awesome with simply grilled fish.  Snapper, Salmon, Mahi, Grouper.  Yum.