There’s about a billion variations on this recipe out there but I love the simple nature of a post-fast soup. This is traditionally made with lamb, but a few more garbanzos and vegetable broth makes it an outstanding vegetarian stew.

2 Tbs unsalted butter 1 tsp red pepper flakes or

1 Tbs oil 1/2 tsp cayenne

2 onions, sliced 1/2 tsp ground ginger

2-4 cloves minced garlic 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 red pepper, sliced 1/2 tsp ground tumeric

1 can whole tomatoes (28 oz) 1/2 tsp ground cumin

3 Tbs chopped cilantro 8 cups hot water

1 Tsp salt 1 cup lentils

1/4 tsp black pepper 2 cans chick peas, drained

1/2 cup angel hair pasta, broken

into 1 inch pieces

Heat butter and oil in a stockpot over med-high heat.  Add onions and bell pepper and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook another minute or so. While onions are cooking, toss the tomatoes, cilantro, salt and pepper in a food processor and pulse until smooth.

Add ginger, cinnamon, tumeric, cumin and cayenne/crushed red pepper to the onions and cook for 1 or 2 minute more. Pour in the tomato mixture and bring to a boil.  Add the lentils and water.  Cover and reduce heat to low.  Simmer until lentils are tender, about 30 minutes.

Add the chickpeas and bring the soup up to a low boil.  Add the pasta and cook until tender, about 6-8 minutes.

Serves 8

2 Tbs unsalted butter 1 tsp red pepper flakes or

1 Tbs oil 1/2 tsp cayenne

2 onions, sliced 1/2 tsp ground ginger

2-4 cloves minced garlic 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 red pepper, sliced 1/2 tsp ground tumeric

1 can whole tomatoes (28 oz) 1/2 tsp ground cumin

3 Tbs chopped cilantro 8 cups hot water

1 Tsp salt 1 cup lentils

1/4 tsp black pepper 2 cans chick peas, drained

1/2 cup angel hair pasta, broken

into 1 inch pieces

Heat butter and oil in a stockpot over med-high heat.  Add onions and bell pepper and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook another minute or so. While onions are cooking, toss the tomatoes, cilantro, salt and pepper in a food processor and pulse until smooth.

Add ginger, cinnamon, tumeric, cumin and cayenne/crushed red pepper to the onions and cook for 1 or 2 minute more. Pour in the tomato mixture and bring to a boil.  Add the lentils and water.  Cover and reduce heat to low.  Simmer until lentils are tender, about 30 minutes.

Add the chickpeas and bring the soup up to a low boil.  Add the pasta and cook until tender, about 6-8 minutes.

Serves 8

I found this Filipino-inspired recipe on Serious Eats a while back and for something so simple, it’s surprisingly tasty, forgiving of substitutions (I made several, noted below) and as such probably won’t require any special trips to the store.

Ingredients
2 lbs Beef eye of round or Round steak cut into 1 1 1/2 hunks*
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 cup olive oil
2 Tbs unsalted butter
1 l onion, chopped (about 1 cup worth)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded, stemmed & minced*
1/2 cup tomato paste*
1 can crushed tomatoes (28 ounce can)
2 large sweet peppers (1 green and 1 red), coarsely chopped
1 3/4 cup chicken stock*
3/4 cup smooth peanut butter (any kind--no need to use the really good stuff)
2 oz grated cheddar cheese
1/2 cup frozen green peas, thawed *
6 cups cooked white rice, for serving

Directions

1.  Combine oil, salt, and pepper in a gallon ziplock storage bag.  Shake and moosh together to get it to blend a little, then add meat and moosh it around more to get the marinade distributed. Let marinade at room temperature for 2 hours, turning the bag and mooshing it around occasionally.

2.  Add butter to a large pot or dutch oven and melt over medium heat. When butter has just melted, toss in the jalapeno, onion and garlic and sauté until light brown--maybe about 5 minutes. throw the beef to pan and continue cooking over medium heat until the meat is seared on all sides.

3.  Add tomato paste to the pot and stir it into the meat and onion mixture. Add crushed tomatoes, red and green peppers, chicken stock, and peanut butter. Stir well to help break up the lumps of peanut butter then cover and let simmer on low heat for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.

4.  Add cheese and peas. Simmer and stir for another 5 minutes or so to allow the cheese to melt and the gravy to thicken up a bit.  Serve over rice.

Serves 6-8.
Substitutions

The original recipe called for goat.  I like goat, but would have had to drive a 3 hour round trip to a specialty market to get some. Lamb was too expensive, so beet it was.

I didn’t have a jalapeno and didn’t want to go to the closest store 6 miles away for just that, so I subbed in not quite 1 Tbs dry crushed red pepper

I was also out of tomato paste.  I subbed in a small can of tomato sauce and cut back on the chicken broth by 1/2 cup so it wouldn’t be too soupy

the amount of peas called for in the recipe seemed almost useless so I used a whole 1 pound bag of peas

I’ve had something like this once or twice before and it’s usually very minimalist; often not much more than broth, potstickers and perhaps some chopped green onion. I wanted to make it a little more substantial without wrecking the simplicity that lets every ingredient speak. Add some egg rolls and you’ll have a fairly nice, light meal.

Ingredients
2 small onions, chopped
1/4 cup carrots, halved lengthwise then thinly sliced
2 Tbs canola or sesame oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 box vegetable broth (32 oz)
1 cup frozen peas
1 box potstickers (I used vegetable/vegetarian ones) with sauce packets*
2-4 green onions, thinly sliced

Directions
Heat the oil in a saucepan over med-high heat until shimmery.  Toss in carrots and onion and saute for about 3-4 minutes, until onion starts to get translucent.  Add the garlic and saute for another minute or two.

Add the peas and saute an additional minute, then add the broth, potstickers and sauce packets. Bring to good rolling simmer for about 3 minutes or until potstickers are warmed through before serving.  Garnish with sliced onions.

*If the potstickers don’t have sauce packets, use 3/4 tsp each of sesame oil and soy sauce.

serves 4-6

Originally I was going to make a Carribean inspired soup that my dear friend Krista had shared with me, but I was missing several key ingredients so I took a tour through my fridge and pantry and came up with this.  The measurements aren’t particularly exact.  If anything, they probably err on the side of being less than what I actually used. 

Ingredients:

2 Tbs olive oil, divided
2 lbs pork, cut into 1/2-3/4 inch cubes (chicken or even extra firm tofu would work)
1 large onion, chopped
4 ribs celery, chopped
1 cup chopped carrots
3-4 cloves minced garlic
8-10 red skin potatoes, cut into 1/4 inch slices
2 28 oz cans whole, peeled tomatoes; cut up and with juice
2 cups chicken broth and/or white wine
1 tsp ea. rosemary, thyme, marjoram & basil
salt and pepper to taste

Heat 1 Tbs oil in a big ass dutch oven. And add the cubed pork and brown on all sides (don’t cook through).  Remove to a bowl and set aside. Add the other Tbs oil and toss in the onion, celery and carrots. Saute until onion starts to get tender, about 5 minutes, add the garlic and saute for another minute or so.

Throw the pork back into the pot along with the potatoes, tomatoes and juices, broth/wine and herbs.  Cover and bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 20-30 minutes; until potatoes are tender and the pork is cooked through.

Season with salt and pepper to taste and sprinkle with a bit of parmesan cheese

Serves 6-8

Notes:  It was really tasty, but very soupy. Next time I’ll probably dredge the meat in flour and coarsely ground pepper before browning in hopes that it thickens the broth a scosh. Garbanzo, canellini or great northern beans would make a great substitute for the spuds and any saute-able veggies such as squash, bell peppers or even green beans could be tossed in with the onions and carrots.

Picture details:  Soup bowl-Tuscan Orchard by Lenox; Spoon-Mayfield Satin by Kirk-Stieff.

I cut this recipe out of a newspaper ages ago and keep making it because it’s tasty and throws together easily with stuff i usually have sitting in the freezer and pantry.  I sub in dried fruits like cherries and cranberries because I loathe raisins and have made it vegetarian by adding extra garbanzos and using extra firm tofu in place of the chicken.  As it is, it’s got a Moroccan/middle eastern vibe but changing the spice mixture and the type of beans can get you to a Mexican or Italian-style meal… Cajun is pretty easy to do as well.

Ingredients
2 tsp ea ground cinnamon, cumin, coriander
1/2 tsp cayenne
salt to taste
1 1/2 lb boneless skinless chicken breast
2 Tbs olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 tsp grated ginger
3 cloves crushed garlic
1 cup chicken broth
2 cups diced tomatoes
2 cups garbanzos, rinsed
1/4 cup kalamata olives, chopped
1/2 CUP cranberries
2 Tbs honey
1 bay leaf
1 Tbs honey
2 Tbs lemon juice

Directions
Cut chicken into bite sized pieces.  Combine cinnamon, cumin, coriander, cayenne and salt (if using) in a big-ass plastic bag.  Add the chicken and toss around until well coated.

Heat the oil in a large saucepan or dutch oven and add the chicken.  Saute until browned, but not cooked through, about 4-5 minutes, then remove chicken.

Add the onion and saute until just tender, about 3 minutes. Add the ginger, garlic and broth to the pan and cook an additional 5 minutes.

Toss the chicken back into the pot along with the remaining ingredients.  Bring to a simmer, cover and cook for half an hour.

Serve over couscous or rice.

Serves 4

When I was a kid, we never ate sweet potatoes. It was another one of those foods that my Irish-German, Pennsylvania-born Mom considered ‘foreign,’ and therefore not worthy of cooking, along with things like lasagna, pizza and sauerkraut.  Essentially, anything that had spices, did not have hamburger as an ingredient or that wasn’t overcooked ,bland and tasteless was never served. As a result, it wasn’t until I was in college that I was exposed to a lot of the foods I now love. Yep.  College dorm cafeteria food as a taste treat. Amazing, eh? 

That’s where I first had sweet potatoes.  Sadly for me, it was one of those vile sweet potato casseroles where the baby food consistency potatoes were drowned in way too much butter and sugar and weighed down by mountains of marshmallows which for my money, is one of the most disgusting food products invented and I’ve eaten potted meat straight from the can.  This one actually lets you taste the potatoes, but it’s still got the requisite sweetitude but with a bit of a kick.

Ingredients
2 lbs sweet potatoes, peeled
2 Tbs unsalted butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup orange juice
1/4 tsp ground cayenne
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

Method
Preheat oven to 350.  Spray a 14x10 baking pan with cooking spray.  Half the potatoes lengthwise befor cutting into 3/4 inch thick wedges.  Cut the wedges down into 3/4 to one inch hunks before tossing into a bowl.

Melt the butter in the microwave.  Stir in the remaining ingredients and nuke for another minutes or so until it gets syrupy.

Pour over the potatoes in the bowl and toss to coat.  Throw the potatoes into the baking pan and spread into a single layer.  Bake for 40-45 minutes or until tender and the glaze has thickened and cooked down.

Serves 8-10

Photo info:
Bowl by Lamberton China for the United States Lines

I found this recipe when searching for something totally other and thought “whoah! this is like congealed trail mix!”

For something so totally simple and easy to make, they’re crazy tasty and relatively healthy what with the oats and the no processed sugar.  One drawback to the recipe is that when the wet ingredients are combined with the dry ingredients the whole thing becomes incredibly dense. You’re going to need a very strong spoon and Popeye arms in order to stir everything together.  Also, while honey is much easier to get out of it’s container if it’s been warmed up it’s possible to get it to boil (who knew?) and the resulting mess is not pleasant to clean up.  For a bit more chocolaty goodness, add maybe 1/4-1/2 cup cocoa.  Because the mixture is so incredibly sticky, it’s also best to wet your hands occasionally whilst rolling the dough into balls.

Ingredients
3 1/2 cups old -fashioned Rolled Oats
1 cup dried fruit (I used cherries and cranberries)
1 cup unsweetened dried Coconut Flakes
1 cup semi-sweet Chocolate Chips
1 3/4 cups all-purpose Flour
1/2 cup chopped, toasted almonds
1/2 cup brandy or rum
1 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Sea Salt

1 cup Honey
1 cup unsalted Butter, melted
2 tsp Vanilla Extract

Method

1.  The night before making the cookies, chop the dried fruit and toss into a ziplock bag with the rum or brandy.  Remove all the air, set aside and allow to macerate overnight.

2.  Preheat oven to 350 °F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.

3.  Combine all of the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Combine all of the wet ingredients together.

4.  Add the wet mixture into the dry mixture and stir just until fully incorporated. Cover and refrigerated for at least 30 minutes.

5.  Roll the cookies into balls and stagger on lined sheet pan. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until just set.

Picture info:
Plate:  Mountain View by Lenox
Glass:  Vintage BC comics gas station premium glass.  Part of a complete set bought at a garage sale.

These have a little bit of kick from the hot sauce, though if I were making these for myself I’d add more.  Pretty good for breakfast, too.

Ingredients
1/4 cup finely ground yellow cornmeal
2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 large egg
1/2 cup plain breadcrumbs
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup white onion, finely chopped
4 tsp hot sauce
1 Tbs kosher salt
1/4 cup canola or vegetable oil
6 eggs, for frying

Directions
Heat the oven to 300°F and arrange a rack in the middle. Place cornmeal in a shallow dish and set aside.

Throw the beans, garlic, egg, breadcrumbs, cilantro, onion, hot sauce, and salt into the food processor. Pulse until everything is mixed and beans are broken down but some whole beans remain, about 15 pulses. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula during processing.

Form 6 (3-inch) patties and dust each patty on both sides with cornmeal. Place on a baking sheet.  cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for about 20 minutes to allow the patties to firm up.  Or if you have the space, put ‘em in the freezer for maybe 5-10 minutes.

Heat oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat until shimmering. Place 3 patties in the pan and fry until golden, about 3 to 5 minutes per side. Return patties to the baking sheet and place in the oven to keep warm. Repeat with remaining patties.

Top with a fried egg.

Note:  You can make these ahead.  To reheat, pop in the oven for 10 minutes.  Any longer and they dry out too much.

This originally came from an episode of Lidia’s Italy on PBS. If you don’t watch her, she’s awesome.  She owns and operates several (apparently very good) Italian restaurants, but she’s very much a kitchen cook.  Anyway, this is my approximation of what I saw since I only scribbled down the ingredients and added some things of my own. This would be great served with a green salad and risotto or even plain rice to help soak up the sauce.

Ingredients

1 onion, chunked
1 carrot, chunked (or a couple handfuls baby carrots cut in half)
2 ribs celery, chunked
1 green pepper, chunked
2-3 cloves garlic
2 Tbs rubbed sage (or so)
1 Tbs rosemary
2 Tbs olive oil
5 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
10 slices bacon
2 cups white wine or chicken stock
1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
parmesan cheese to taste
kosher salt to taste

Directions
Toss the veggies, garlic and one Tbs sage in a food processor and pulse until minced.  Heat the oil into a large skillet over medium heat. Toss the veggies in and sweat until just starting to get soft. Remove from the skillet, place in a bowl and set aside.

Trim the thighs of excess fat, then cover with plastic wrap and whack with a mallet until they’re all about 1/2 inch thick.  Put a spoonful of the veggie mix on each and spread almost to the edges.  Fold into thirds and press down a bit before wrapping two strips of bacon around it, one strip each way, and secure with toothpicks.

Wipe the pan out to make sure there are no veggies left in it and heat over medium heat.  Put the chicken in, turning them when the bacon starts to sizzle and starts to render fat.  Saute for 5-6 minutes, turning to make sure that all sides are kinda seared.  While they’re browning, drop the rest of the veggie mix into the pan and around the chicken. 

Once everything’s sizzling, pour in the wine or broth and bring to a simmer.  Cook until the wine has reduced by about half, turning the chicken once in a while. Pour the tomatoes into the pan and combine with the wine and veggies (you might need to take a few pieces of chicken out in order to mix if the pan is smallish--I did) Add the rest of the sage and rosemary and bring to a boil.  Cover, then reduce heat a bit to keep things bubbling happily and cook for about 25 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through.

Uncover the pan. Reduce the liquid in the pan to a sauce and season with salt to taste.  Remove the toothpicks from the chicken, sprinkle with parmesan cheese and cover for a minute or 2 to melt the cheese. Serve with rice or maybe pasta.

China:  Royal Stafford for Air Canada

Curried chicken casserole

This is pretty tasty as well as an awesome way to use up leftovers from a chicken or turkey dinner since you can also substitute leftover veggies like corn or green beans.  A rotisserie chicken works too, and it’s especially nice if you can catch one marked down when the supermarket deli closes. If you like your casserole a bit… soupier… use an extra half cup milk.

Ingredients

1 large onion, chopped
3 ribs celery, chopped
3 Tbs unsalted butter, divided
1 cup frozen peas & carrots
3 Tbs flour
1 tsp curry powder (I used Penzey’s hot curry powder)
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup milk (skim is ok)
2 cups cubed chicken
2 Tbs chopped parsley or cilantro
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 cups mashed potatoes
1/4 tsp paprika

Instructions
Over medium heat, saute the onion and celery in 1 Tbs of butter until just tender and fragrant.  Add the frozen veggies and remaining butter.  Cook for another 2 minutes or so.

Stir in the flour and curry powder and cook for a few minutes more so that it forms a roux. Gradually add the milk and chicken broth. Increase heat and bring to a boil. Cook and stir until the sauce thickens until it’s a bit less thick than you want it to end up.  Add the chicken, parsley, salt and pepper and stir to combine.

Spoon into a greased 2 qt baking dish.  Spread mashed potatoes over the top and sprinkle with paprika. Bake, uncovered at 350 for 20-25 minutes.  Remove from oven and let stand 10 minutes or so before serving.

Serves 6

Bowl:  Maddock Stoniers for Cunard Line, ca 1939-1064

I got this from my friend Krista.  Even with the amount of ingredients, it throws together in almost no time (even less if you do some of the veggie prep while the meat is browning) and smells great when it’s bubbling away.  As an added attraction, how many dishes do you make that allows you to drink not one but two different alcoholic beverages ?

Ingredients

1/4 cup olive oil
1 1/4 lbs chuck roast, cut into 1 inch pieces+/- (don’t get anything leaner)
6 cloves garlic, minced
6 cups beef stock
1 cup Guinness
1 cup red wine
2 Tbs tomato paste
1 Tbs brown sugar
1 Tbs dried thyme
1 Tbs Worchestershire sauce
2 bay leaves
3 lbs russet potatoes cut in 1/2” hunks (about 7 cups)
2 Tbs butter
1 large onion, chopped
2 cups peeled carrots cut in 1/2” chunks (I used baby carrots)
salt & pepper to taste
chopped parsley (garnish)

Directions
Heat olive oil in a heavy dutch oven over med-high heat. Working in batches if necessary, add the beef and cook without stirring until browned on one side before turning with tongs. Add the garlic and saute for another minute before adding the previously browned beef back to the pot.  Add remaining ingredients down to the bay leaves and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to med-low, cover and simmer for an hour, stirring once in a while.

While the stew is simmering, melt the butter in another pot of pan over med heat.  Add the potatoes, onions and carrots and saute until golden, about 20 minutes.  Set aside until the stew has finished it’s hour or simmering.

Add vegetables to the stew.  Simmer uncovered until tender… about another 40 minutes. Discard bay leaves and skim off fat before serving.

Serves 4-6

notes:  Depending on how your grocer trims their meat, all you’ll need to do is trim out the big hunks of fat. There’s no need to get rid of it all because you can skim it off before serving.  I used more Guinness and wine than called for (about 1 1/2 cups each) and decreased the broth accordingly. A little more Worchestershire sauce and some peas would be nice too.

As a rule I’m not a big fan of ground chicken or turkey. Unless it’s used as an ingredient in a more complex dish, the flavor factor ranks right down there with plain-jane tofu.  I also have an ever-growing problem with ground meat in general. The salmonella outbreaks from those disgusting industrially produced chubs of beef that don’t even get packaged by the people who do the butchering are bad enough, but when I worked in a Grocery Ranch@#153; I worked in the meat department. I loved working there, but the making of ground meat was always good for a bit of squeamishness. After seeing how and what it’s made of, I pretty much prefer to ‘grind’ my own from poultry and good cuts of pork or beef in the food processor at home.  I know the meat is exactly what I want, I can control the fat content and even add spices and herbs from the start. 

This is why I decided to try this recipe, which I adapted from one found at Wicked Good Dinner. Note: You will need an oven-proof skillet or 2.

Tarragon Chicken Burgers
Yields: 4-5 patties

dishes on permanent loan from Indiana University

For the patties:
2 Tbs olive oil, divided
1 medium onion chopped
1 large green pepper, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced (more if you like)
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken thighs,
cut into 1” cubes
1 tsp Kosher salt
1/2 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
1 Tbs sour cream
1 tsp lemon juice
1 Tbs chopped fresh tarragon
1 Tbs chopped cilantro
1 Tbs flour
3 Tbs canola oil for pan frying

For the topping:
4 Tbs Sour cream
zest of 1 lemon
1 clove garlic, minced
Kosher salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Cut the chicken into 1” pieces, removing skin and most if not all of the fat. Toss the chicken, salt, pepper, 1 Tbs olive oil, yogurt and lemon juice into the bowl of a food processor and pulse until chicken is well minced and no big hunks remain, about 10 pulses.  It will have kind of a disgusting, gluey consistency and you might have to spread it out if it bunches up.

Add one tablespoon of olive oil to a skillet heated over medium heat. Saute onion and green pepper until softened, about 6 minutes. Toss in the garlic and cook for 30 seconds.

Add onion mixture, tarragon, parsley and flour to the chicken glop and pulse until well combined, about 5 pulses.  Fair warning:  the texture will still be gluey… but chunkier.  Divide mixture into four or five equal portions and flatten into patties onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Slide the patties in the fridge for 30 minutes to set shape, or in the freezer for 10 minutes.  While the burgers are chilling, preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

When the burgers are chilled, season them with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in an oven-proof skillet over medium heat, until shimmery. Add patties to pan and cook for 4 minutes. Flip patties and throw the pan in the oven for about 12 – 16 minutes. Remove from oven and loosely tent with aluminum foil for 10 minutes.

While the burgers are resting, mix Greek yogurt, lemon zest and garlic in a small bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste and place a dollop on top of each burger.

Thoughts after cooking:

The original recipe specifies it, but I prefer dark meat because it’s moister and tastier than breast meat. For those of you concerned with fat?  You have ample opportunity to remove as much fat as you want in this recipe, but let’s face it… a little bit of fat goes a long way towards keeping the meat moist and nobody really likes leatherburgers.

This could easily be served on a leaf of lettuce with a salad and/or some steamed or sauteed veggies. For that matter, it would probably make a damn fine meatloaf.

I’d probably use a bit more flour as a binding agent the next time.

Finely shredded carrots might be nice if added to the onions and peppers and a bit of chopped tarragon to the sauce.

I really liked the short frying period to brown the burgers and finishing them up in the oven. It seemed to really cut down on the spatter factor.

So yeah.  Another vegetarian lasagna.  This time made with farm-fresh ingredients.  Literally, as the eggs and zucchini came from my sister Evil’s farm. Happily, I wasn’t required to harvest the eggs myself since I’m still recovering from the emotional and physical scars incurred during The W>eek of the Rooster

We shall not discuss it except to tell you the following.  When a 5 year old tells you "It's okay with me if you kill it," in reference to their Satan-spawned rooster?  You know that the fowl is indeed foul.  But I digress.

I always grew up thinking that lasagna was a buttload of work.  Given how the Mom-unit always had frozen, browned ground beef in the freezer I'm not sure if I buy that.  It's far more likely that she refused on principle to attempt to make it since she never learned to cook and hated to do so; condemning us kids to a childhood of burnt fish sticks that scraped our palates raw (literally), ham boiled until it was grey* and vegetables that had the consistency of, but less color or flavor than, than those found in Gerber's finest baby foods. Now I know better.  Though, as she would be the first to mention "none of you died of starvation, did you?"

Anyway anyway… the lasagna.  This is much more kick ass than the broccoli one I posted earlier. That one was good, but I like this one a lot more.  Unless you're a big fan of the flavor of meat in your lasagna, you probably won't miss it in here. The mushrooms have much the same texture.

Zucchini & red pepper lasagna

Ingredients
1 tub low-fat ricotta cheese
1 1/2 cups low-fat mozzarella cheese
2 eggs
3 Tbs pesto
2 cups sliced zucchini (about 1 large or 2-3 small)
2 cups sliced baby Portabella mushrooms
3 cloves minced garlic
2 Tbs olive oil
2 jars marinara sauce (40 oz total) I like Bertolli
9 no boil lasagna noodles
1 jar roasted red peppers, drained and chopped or
3 red peppers peppers roasted at home

Instructions
Combine ricotta, eggs, pesto and 1/2 cup cheese and set aside.  Heat the oil over high heat in a big-ass skillet.  Reduce heat to med-low and saute the succhini and ‘shrooms until some of zucchini is browned and the ‘shrooms have given off some of their liquid.  Add the garlic and saute another 2 minutes or so. Take off heat and set aside.

Spread a cup of marinara on the bottom of a rectangular baking dish. Put three noddles on top and cover with another cup or so of sauce. Spread half the zucchini/mushroom mixture onto the sauce and top with half of the roasted peppers and half of the ricotta cheese mixture.  Cover with three more noodles and repeat the layers.  Top with remaining three noodles and remaining sauce.

Cover and bake for 45-50 minutes at 375 degrees. Uncover. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella cheese and bake for another 10 minutes or until cheese is melted. Let stand 15 minutes before serving**.

* To be fair, the gray ham was Pop’s doing.  He refused to eat any meat that had a pinkish cast. In his mind that meant that he and the fam would die of Trichinosis or Salmonella poisoning. Indeed, any meat product had to be cooked well past the overdone stage.  I’ll leave you to contemplate the full horror of what burgers or steak on the grill tasted like.

** I can’t stress this enough!  There’s a ton of liquid in the marinara, zucchini and mushrooms.  If you don’t wait for it to be reabsorbed, you’ll have lasagna soup. 

What’s better than a soft, chewy chocolate cookie?  How about a soft, chewy chocolate cookie with a peanut butter center?  These cookies are easy to put together and even easier to eat.  You don’t need to chill either dough so there’s no waiting when you want your cookie fix.  Do, however, let them cool before you tear in.  They’re better when they’re allowed to cool for half an hour. 

I’m not a fan of recipes with 90000 pictures of every single step but in this recipe I’ll be posting several.

Ingredients:

Cookie:
1-1/2C flour
1/2 C cocoa
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2C sugar
1/2 C brown sugar
1 stick butter, softened
1/4 C creamy peanut butter NOT the natural kind
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla

Combine dry ingredients except sugars.  Set aside.

Cream butter and peanut butter with sugars.  Add egg and vanilla.  Add dry ingredients and mix well.  Batter will be very stiff.  Set aside.  Make filling.

Filling:

3/4 C creamy peanut butter NOT the natural kind
3/4 C confectioners sugar

Mix into a very stiff dough.  Use a measuring teaspoon to scoop out bits of dough.  Roll into 1/2” balls and place on waxed paper.

Assembly:
This dough is easy to handle.  You don’t need to butter your hands or anything.  Grab a ball of chocolate dough about this big:

Flatten it out between your palms.  (It’s a very pliable dough.):

Place a ball of peanut butter in the center of the chocolate circle:

Bring up the middle on both sides as if you were making a turnover:

Then bring the ends in towards the middle:

Til the little peanut ball disappears:

Smooth out the chocolate-peanut butter disk.  Just pat it a bit:

Place 2-1/2” apart on a greased half-sheet pan and flatten down a little.  These do not spread much at all.  Bake at 350° for 9 minutes and ONLY 9 minutes.  They will be done at 9 minutes.  Honest.  Let cool a minute on the pan and then transfer to a wire rack.  Cool completely then store in a covered container or ziplock.

These cookies are not a crunchy cookie although they will have a little crunch on the bottom and around the edges.  If you try to make them crunchy by overbaking them, they’ll be dry as a bone.  You have been warned.

I get about 20 cookies at the size I make them but you can probably get an even two dozen if you take smaller hunks of chocolate and just flatten it out more.  I always end up with way too many peanut butter balls.  The kids used to eat them back in the day.  Now I just toss them out...except for maybe one :-D

Chicken in a pepper

So peppers were a buck apiece last week and chicken thighs were on sale too. Regular stuffed peppers aren’t high on my list of things to eat, but these were pretty darn tasty.  They looked pretty too.

Ingredients
4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1/4 cup olive oil
2 cloves minced garlic
2 Tbs pesto
2 flat bottomed bell peppers

Directions

Combine the oil, garlic and pesto and toss into a plastic bag. Add the chicken and marinate in the fridge for up to an hour.

Cut the tops off the peppers. Remove the ribs and seeds and brush the insides with a bit of oil, then season with salt and pepper.  Take the chicken from the marinade and roll up jelly roll style. Stuff two thighs into each pepper and place in a baking pan.

Bake at 350 until chicken is done--about 45-50 minutes.

Serve with rice (fried would be extra nice) and sauted veggies.

A good cook is not necessarily a good woman with an even temper. Some allowance should be made for artistic temperament.
~X. Marcel Boulestin

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