Taco layered casserole

• 1/2 onion, diced
• 1 lb. ground beef
• taco seasoning
• salsa
• tortillas(5)
• 1 can refried beans
• cheese- grated
• 
  

Chop up an onion and sautee it in a bit of olive oil until it just started to brown. Add in the ground beef. Cook until it starts to brown, drain off excess fat if necessary. 

Add in the taco seasoning and season to your desired level. (cumin and cayenne can add some spice and complexity. Then add in about 1/2 a cup of your favorite salsa. 

Spread refried beans on 4 of the five tortillas. 

In a round casserole dish (greased), layer tortilla (with beans on top) meat, and cheese, top with the remaining tortilla (no beans) and top with cheese. Bake in a 350-degree oven until the cheese is melted. 

Tortellini Soup

• 1 cup thin sliced carrots
• 1 minced onion
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 8 oz, chopped mushrooms
• 1 lb pork sausage
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 lb. tortellini (I use 4 cheese tortellini)
• Broth (chicken or veggie)-1-2 quarts
• cream
• Spinach (optional)

Sautee the onion, carrot, garlic and mushroom until they brown slightly. Set them aside. 

In the same pan, cook the sausage until it browns slightly- breaking it into small pieces as you go. 

Add in the flour and stir into the sausage for about 1-2 minutes. 

Slowly pour in the first quart of broth, stirring as you go. Put the veggies back in and add in more broth until everything is covered and there is plenty of liquid (the tortellini will soak up a lot of liquid). 

Simmer for at least 20 minutes. 

When you are nearly ready to eat, add in extra broth (if needed) and pour in the tortellini. Simmer the tortellini until cooked. 

Add in cream (and spinach) at the end. Stir until the soup is hot again (and spinach has wilted). 

Caprese Pizza

• Pizza Dough
• 1/3 cup Olive oil
• 7 cloves of garlic
• 1 brick of fresh (soft) mozzarella -sliced into medallions
• 2 tomatoes, 3 roma tomatoes, or 15-20 cherry tomatoes- Sliced into discs
• 5 leaves of fresh basil-rough chop or chiffonade
• Balsamic Vinegar
• OPTIONAL: 1/2 red onion- sliced thin
• OPTIONAL: 6oz mushroom-sliced and browned in butter

Preheat the oven to 425 with a pizza stone in it if you have one. 

Start by smashing and peeling the garlic cloves ad putting them in a small pot with the olive oil. Cook over low heat until the garlic is soft then blend in a small food processor until you have a nice garlic oil paste.

Roll out your dough to the size of your pizza stone or pizza pan. If you have a pizza stone, take it out of the oven now and sprinkle some corn meal on it before putting the raw dough on the hot stone, Otherwise, grease your pizza pan and put the dough on it.

Brush your pizza all over with the garlic paste. Place the mozzarella slices all over it. Then place the slices of tomato all over it. If you want onion or mushroom sprinkle those evenly over the pizza now as well.

Bake for about 10 minutes or until the crust looks cooked and the cheese is melted all over and starting to brown just a little. Sprinkle the basil over the top and bake for just one more minute. 

Take the pizza out and move it off your pizza stone (or it will get cheese stuck to it) and slice and serve with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar over the top. The best vinegar to use would be a balsamic glaze that is much thicker than a regular vinegar-almost honey consistency. You can find this vinegar in stores like Safeway and Fred Meyer (or Smiths) but I haven't seen it at Winco or Walmart. 

Spatezle/Knopfle

• 1.5 cups flour
• 3 eggs
• 1/3 cup milk
• dash nutmeg
• season with salt and pepper

• butter
• grated Gruyere cheese (4 oz)
• 1/4 cup cream
• dash paprika

Set water to boil.

Mix the first set of ingredients together into a loose dough.

When the water is boiling,  use a spaetzle maker or a colander with large holes and put 1/3 of the dough in and push or scrape it through the holes to form little dumplings.

After it the dough rises to the top, cook for 2-3 minutes then use a slotted spoon to scoop out all the spaetzle and put it in a clean colander and rinse with cold water. Repeat twice with the remaining dough.

 

Then heat a pan and melt some butter in it. Just as the butter starts to sizzle toss in the spaezle and brown lightly, stirring often. Turn off the heat and stir in the cheese, cream and paprika. Serve.

Mediterranean olive and oregano chicken

• 3/4 cup chopped  green olives
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 2 tbsp lime juice
• 1 tbsp minced garlic
• 2 tsp honey
• 1 tbsp fresh oregano (chopped) or 1 tsp dried
• Salt and pepper

Whisk these together and season with salt and pepper. Be sparing with the salt.

• 4-5 lb chicken pieces, bone in, skin on

Season the chicken with a little salt and pepper then coat the pieces in the olive mixture, cover and chill for 2 hours to overnight. 

bake covered at 375 for 75 minutes then uncover and finish until chicken is at least 165 degrees internally (about 30 minutes). 

When its done, put the chicken on a plate and pour the juices into a pot. 

• 1/4 cup white wine
• 1 tbsp cornstarch 

whisk in the remaining ingredients. Simmer the sauce till thickened and pour over the chicken to serve. 

Quinoa Avocados

• 2-3 cups cooked quinoa
• 1 cup chopped/shredded chicken
• 1 cup salad shrimp (optional)
• 1 lbs. chopped mushroom
• 1 diced onion
• feta cheese
• 1/2 can chicken stock
• 1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped
• 3-4 avocados, sliced in half, pit removed. 
• 1 lbs roasted asparagus
• 1 bunch green onions, chopped

Saute the mushrooms and onions. Mix in the chicken, 1/2 can of chicken stock, quinoa, and feta cheese and cilantro. Cook till liquid reduced almost gone. Mix in the shrimp. Spoon the mixture over half an avocado and top with roasted asparagus and green onion.

Cilantro-Lime Tilapia

• 2 bunch green onion,
• 1 bunch cilantro
• 1/4 cup lime juice
• 1/3 cup butter
• 1/2 cup veggie or chicken stock
• oil
• flour (about 1 cup)
• cumin (about 2 Tbsp.)
• salt (2 tsp.)
• 4 tilapia fillets
• avocado
• Cooked white rice

Dice the green onion bunches and the cilantro (reserve half of each for later) and put half of each in a pan with the lime juice and stock. Simmer till reduced by half. Add in the butter, when melted, pour into a bowl or cup and use an immersion blender (or regular blender) to process till smooth. 

Heat oil in a large skillet till hot and sizzles when anything is put in (you can test with a piece of green onion). Mix flour, salt and cumin. Dredge the fish in the flour mixture and fry until just starting to brown on edges, flip and cook that side for about 1 minute. Remove and place on a paper towel. 

Serve fish over the rice, top with sauce and sprinkle fresh green onion and cilantro. Put 2-3 slices of avocado on side.

Kalua Pork

• Pork butt roast
• 2 Tbs. Hawaiian Salt (don't use sea salt, it ends up too salty)
• 2 Tbsp. liquid smoke

Rub the pork in the salt and put it in the slow cooker. Pour in the liquid smoke. Cook on low for 8-12 hours. Shred and remove large fat pieces. If desired, remove liquid and add 1 tbsp cornstarch. Simmer in a pot till it thickens and pour back over the meat. Or add barbecue sauce.

Serve on rolls or burger buns. 

Chicken "wing" drumsticks

• 1 large pkg. drumsticks or wings 
• 1 cup flour
• salt
• onion powder
• paprika
• season salt
• Oil

Mix together everything but the chicken and oil. Coat the chicken and bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Make the sauces now. 

Pour enough oil in a pan or pot to fry the drumsticks without them sticking to the bottom. 

Fry the chicken till golden and cooked through. Place on a paper towel to remove excess oil. Coat in sauce of your choice.

The traditional hot sauce goes great with this tomatillo ranch dressing as a dipping sauce.

Traditional hot sauce:

•  minced garlic
• hot sauce
• dash of cumin
• apple cider vinegar
• stone ground mustard
• Butter

Soy ginger hot sauce:

• soy sauce
• minced garlic
• grated ginger
• mustard
• honey
• sherry
• Butter

Garlic parmesan sauce:

• minced garlic
• white wine
• chicken stock
• butter
• Parmesan

Simmer all ingredients except butter (and parm) until reduced to about half liquid. Then add in butter till melted and take off the heat. Add in Parmesan after it cools slightly for the garlic parm sauce. 

Gumbo

• half pound pork sausage
• 1 carrot-diced small
• 1 onion-diced small
• 2 sticks celery-diced small
• 1 bell pepper-diced small
• 1 cup shredded chicken
• 1/2 pound link dinner sausage cut into slices
• 1/3 cup flour
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 cup oil
• 4 cups chicken stock
• 1 Tbsp. creole seasonings (salt, black pepper, red pepper, chili powder, garlic)
• 1 tsp. paprika
• 1 tsp. oregano
• 1 tsp. thyme

Start by browning half a pound of pork sausage. Remove the meat from the pan but leave the fat. Put in a large bowl to the side

Saute the onion, celery, carrot and peppers until soft in the fat. Add it to the bowl with the sausage. Put the chicken and sausage slices in the bowl too.

Melt the butter and add in the oil then  flour. Stir and cook the roux (flour butter mixture) until it turns brown. Most gumbo recipes say you want it a nice dark brown. this can take 20 minutes or more. Slowly whisk in the chicken stock so there are no flour lumps. 

Add back in the bowl with veggies and meat. Add in the spices. Simmer for about 2 hours. Serve over rice in a bowl.

Salmon Risotto

• 1 onion-diced
• 1 pepper-diced
• 1 tbs. butter plus some oil
• 1 1/2 cups arborio rice
• 1/2 bottle white wine
• 6 cups stock*
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup Parmesan
• 1 cup flaked salmon meat (cooked)

Cook the onion and pepper in the oil over medium heat till soft and starting to brown. 

Add in the butter and rice and a bit more oil- just coat the grains of rice. Sate until just before the grains brown then add in the wine slowly, stirring.

Cook at a gentle low simmer adding liquid in when the pan the liquid is almost gone. Stir often. After about half an hour and most of the liquid, your rice should be cooked. Use more or less liquid as necessary.

While there is still a little liquid left in the pan, add in the butter, Parmesan, and salmon and stir until incorporated. Serve immediately. 

*I made salmon stock using the bones and head of a salmon that I filleted for salmon steaks the day before. I put the bones and head in a pot with water, lemon, carrot, onion, and celery. Simmered for an hour, and then strained out all the liquid for stock. Then i picked through the bones and head and got about 1.5 cups of flaked meat.



 Here is a picture of a chicken and white wine risotto. Instead of salmon stock and meat I used chicken and I didn't put in the peppers.

Navajo Tacos

Dough:

• 2 cups flour
• 1 Tbsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 Tbsp. oil
• about 3/4 cup warm water
• oil and shortening for frying

Taco meat:

• ground beef
• tomato sauce
• diced onion
• taco seasonings
• cumin

Toppings:

• onion
• cilantro
• lettuce
• tomato

Start by making the dough. Mix the dry ingredients together then slowly add in the oil and water. Mix as little as possible but make sure there are no lumps. Let it sit for about 2 hours, greased on the outside so it doesn't dry out. 

Start prepping the taco meat by cooking up ground beef and onion then adding in the seasonings and tomato sauce and let it cook down a bit. 

Put shortening and oil in a pan to heat for frying. 

Pinch off a ball of dough that will fir in the palm of your hand. Slowly stretch it out to just smaller than the size of a dinner plate. Don't roll it out or squish it or you lose the air bubbles.

Fry quickly on either side till light brown. Drain off the oil on a paper towel and serve with the meat and toppings.

Tostadas

Tortillas
Cheese
Meat
salsa
other toppings


Tostadas are pretty simple. Start by cooking up your favorite tortilla. Traditionally they use crispy fried corn tortillas but if you like flour tortillas just go for it. You can even buy pre-cooked tostada shells.

Top the tostada with cheese and bake in the oven at 350 until the cheese is melted.

Top with your choice of meat. I recommend the sweet pork from this recipe. But you can even use fajita meat, shredded chicken, shrimp, whatever.

Put the warm meat on top of the melted cheese and top with salsa, corn, beans, lettuce, or whatever sounds good to you. Finish off with a drizzle of the tomatillo ranch dressing that you can find here.

This is a great dish that each person can personalize. Serve each person  their plain cheese tostada and let them choose from the meats and toppings you have.

Lamb Roast

Mix together olive oil, salt, pepper, onion powder, minced garlic, and herbs (rosemary, thyme, etc.). Rub it over a lamb roast and place in a roasting pan.

Cook at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes or until the center reaches about 150 degrees.  Take it out of the oven and place the meat on a plate or cutting board. Let rest 5-10 minutes. Serve with roast potatoes. Steamed veggies, and mint sauce or a quick pan sauce.


For the pan sauce, As soon as you take the meat out of the pan, De-glaze with a little wine. Then pour all the juices into a small sauce pot and simmer until you are ready to serve.

Roasted red pepper bisque

• 4 roasted red peppers (see previous week for how to make)
• 3 cups chicken stock (or veggie stock)
• 1/4 tsp cayenne
• 1/4 tsp paprika
• 5 oz grated cheese
• 1/3 cup cream

Combine your peppers and broth in a pot on low and simmer for 1/2 an hour. Make sure not to over reduce. It will lose some volume but not much.

Blend this mixture in a blender or food processor. 

Add in the seasonings and simmer for another 10 minutes on low. Add in the cream and cheese. Cook till the cheese is melted and the soup is hot. 

Serve with croutons, salad shrimp, or orzo pasta.

Spring rolls

• 2 cups Shredded chicken
• 2 cups thin rice noodles-cooked according to package directions
• 1/4 cup basil
• 2 cups broccoli slaw or diced cabbage
• rice paper wrappers

Sauce-whisk together

• 4 tbs. soy sauce
• 1 tbs. rice wine vinegar
• 1 tbs. sesame oil
• 1 tbs. basil oil
• 1.5 tbs. hoisin sauce

Mix together all the ingredients except the rice paper wrappers. 

Soften the wrappers in water until pliable. Fill will the pasta mixture. Fold up like a burrito.

Penne Rustica

This recipe is our tradition new year's meal. It is decadent and delicious. The recipe calls for chicken, but because we have duck at Christmas, we always use leftover duck instead.

Sauce:

• 2 tsp. butter
• 2 tsp. chopped garlic
• 1 tsp. dijon mustard
• 1 tsp dried dill
• 1 tsp chopped rosemary
• 1 cup marsala wine
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 3 cups cream

Pasta portion:

• 4 oz. bacon
• 18 shrimp-peeled and deveined
• 12 oz chicken, sliced
• 16-24 oz cooked penne pasta
• 6 oz butter
• 1 chopped shallot
• 1 pinch salt and pepper
• 1 cup parmesan cheese
• 1/2 tsp paprika

For the sauce: saute butter, garlic, and rosemary until garlic begins to brown. Add in wine and reduce by about 1/3. Add remaining ingredients. reduce by half. Set aside.

For the pasta portion: saute bacon until crisped. add butter, shallots, and shrimp, cook until shrimp are pink but still slightly translucent. Add in the chicken (or duck) and salt and pepper. Mix evenly. Add the sauce and half of the parmesan. Simmer until it thickens. Combine pasta and sauce mixture in a large bowl. Pour into a casserole dish and top with remaining cheese and sprinkle the paprika over the top. Bake at 475 for 10-15 minutes.