Moroccan Meatball and Cauliflower Stir Fry

10 frozen meatballs, thawed
1 slice of yellow onion, chopped
1 garlic, minced
2 Tbsp Gourmet Garden Moroccan Herb & Spice Blend
Few dashes of red pepper flakes
About 10 small cauliflower florets
½ cup of rice
1 cup of chicken broth
Salt to taste
EVOO

Cook rice and chicken broth in rice cooker, about 15-20 minutes.

Add cauliflower to a shallow glass dish with ½ inch of water at the bottom. Cover with clear wrap and microwave for 2 minutes and 35 seconds. Uncover and drain excess water from bowl.

Heat EVOO in a frying pan over medium high. Sauté meatballs, cauliflower, onion, garlic, Moroccan spice blend and pepper flakes, until meatballs are warm all the way through.

Serve stir fry on top of rice.

Lasagna

Fresh from the oven. I usually top each tomato slice with a basil leaf, but I didn't have any. It looks really pretty.



I like to use a clear dish so you can see all the yummy layers and colors.



Wait for the lasagna to cool about 10 minutes after removing from oven so you can slice it nicely. Otherwise the cheese will be to soft and runny and you'll have a mess.


I box of non-bake lasagna noodles
I jar of spaghetti sauce
1 lb of beef (or turkey or ½ and ½)
1 zucchini, sliced lengthwise, lightly salted
3 mushrooms, sliced
Onion, a few ring slices, separated
1 tomato, sliced, lightly salted
½ cup cottage cheese
1 cup frozen, chopped spinach, thawed and water squeezed out
1 egg
1 bag of shredded mozzarella cheese
½ cup of shredded parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a sauce pan, sauté beef until almost done. Drain fat. Return to stove top and add spaghetti sauce, about ¼ of jar. Mix with beef and set aside.

In a small bowl, mix cottage cheese, spinach, egg, ½ bag of mozzarella and ¼ cup of parmesan cheese together.

In a casserole dish (9" x 9"), add a few spoonfuls of spaghetti sauce. Spread around to cover the bottom of the dish. Start to layer from bottom to the top: lasagna noodles, beef, lasagna noodles, spaghetti sauce to cover noodles, cottage cheese mixture, zucchini, onion rings, mushrooms, lasagna noodles, spaghetti sauce, the rest of the mozzarella cheese, tomato slices, and then the rest of the parmesan cheese.

Cover with aluminum foil and back for 45 minutes. Uncover and back for an additional 10 minutes, so top cheese melts and browns. Let lasagna sit for 10 minutes before cutting and serving.

Moroccan Turkey Meatballs with Green Rice

Meatballs
¾ lb of ground turkey
1 Tbsp Gourmet Garden Moroccan Herb & Spice Blend
A bunch of cilantro, minced
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 egg
1 thick onion slice, diced
¼ cup of bread crumbs, add more if meat mixture is too wet
S & P

Rice
1 cup of rice
2 cups of chicken stalk
2 stalks of green onions, diced
1 Tbsp Gourmet Garden Basil Herb Blend
1 zucchini, diced
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 large handful of raw Spinach, ripped apart or chopped
EVOO
Feta cheese (sundried tomato flavor)

Start rice in rice cooker by adding rice, chicken stalk, green onions, basil blend, a few drops of EVOO and a few dashes of salt.

In a large bowl, add turkey, Moroccan herbs, cilantro, garlic, egg, onion, bread crumbs, s & p and mix well with your hands. With wet hands, shape 3 inch meatball rolls in the palm of your hands.

Over medium high, heat EVOO in a frying pan. Add meatballs and brown all sides so they are brown and crispy. Lower heat and cover until the meatballs are cooked all the way through and no longer pink in the middle. Don’t overcook otherwise they will be too dry.

Sauté zucchini and garlic with a little EVOO and salt until tender. Once rice is finished, add zucchini. In same pan, add spinach, sauté until wilted. Add to rice, and mix everything together.

Plate rice and meatballs together and sprinkle with feta cheese for a very tasty dinner!

Fajita Burgers

1 lb of ground beef
1 tsp of seasoned salt
Few dashes of Worcestershire
Red and/or orange bell peppers, sliced in strips
2 onion slices, separate rings
1 tsp EVOO
1 large, ripe avocado
¼ fresh lime juice
Salt
Lemon pepper seasoning
Pepper Jack cheese
2 sesame Kaiser rolls
Frozen steak fries

Heat oven according to package directions for fries. Heat up grill for burger patties.

Add Worcestershire and seasoned salt to beef, mix well with your hands. Shape beef into two patties. Add to grill once fries are half way through cooking.

Slice veggies and cheese. Make guacamole by mashing avocado with lime juice, salt and lemon pepper. Season to taste.

Heat EVOO in a frying pan. Sauté peppers and onions until tender.

Cook burgers until barely pink in the middle. Add cheese until melted. Toast rolls on grill.

Plate burgers (in order from bottom up: bottom bun, patty with cheese, peppers and onions, guacamole and top bun). Serve with fries and a cold cerveza.

Mac n Cheese with Grilled Chicken Jalapeno Sausages

Mac & Cheese
2 cups of elbow macaroni
1 1/2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni
3/4 cup shredded extra sharp Cheddar cheese
1/4 cup of gruyere cheese, in two parts
2 ounces of Velveeta cheese, cubed
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3 Tbsp flour
1 cup of milk
4 Tbsp of butter

2 Chicken Jalapeno sausage links
A few cherry tomatoes, halved

Fruit Salad
Strawberries, chopped
Blueberries
Cantaloupe, chopped
Blackberries
Red grapes

Heat oven to 375 degrees.

Cook macaroni according to package directions. In a saucepan, under medium heat, add butter, flour s & p and whisk until smooth. Gradually add milk and whisk in until blended and thickened. Stir in all of Cheddar, Velveeta and ½ of Gruyere, stirring until cheese is melted. Drain macaroni. Add macaroni to sauce pan with cheese mixture and mix until pasta is covered with cheese.

Transfer macaroni to a greased casserole dish. Top with second half of Gruyere. Bake, uncovered, for 30 minutes until top is golden brown.

Grill sausages until cooked all the way through. Cut fruit for salad.

Served mac & cheese with sausages, sliced bread and a few cherry tomato halves. Serve fruit salad for dessert.

Open Faced Breakfast Sandwiches

Saturday morning breakfast for my hubby.

1-2 eggs
1 Tbsp of heavy cream or milk
Couple dashes of hot sauce
Salt & pepper
2 slices of Black Forest Ham
Gruyere cheese, shredded
2 Sourdough bread slices
2 slices of cantaloupe
A few grapes

Heat some EVOO in a frying pan. Whisk eggs, cream, hot sauce, s & p until fluffy. Scramble eggs until they are barely runny. They will continue to cook in the hot pan and you don’t want to overcook them so they’re dry. Move eggs to the side and heat ham in the same pan until it’s warmed through.

Toast bread. Top with ham, eggs and cheese. Put back in toaster oven so cheese melts. Top with freshly cracked pepper. Plate sandwiches with a side of fruit. Serve with OJ and coffee.

Albondigas Soup (My version)

6-8 servings (Yes, I make this much for just the 2 of us because it’s so good we eat it all week!)
About 2 hours to prepare and cook (So worth it!)

Meatballs
1 lb of beef
1 egg
¼ onion, minced
3 cloves of garlic, minced (2/3 for the meatballs, 1/3 for the soup)
¼ cup cilantro, minced
1 tsp of dried oregano
Salt and pepper

Soup
2-32 oz. broth (beef and/or veggie)
2-14.5 oz. cans of diced tomatoes, undrained (I used one can with onion & garlic and one with green pepper and onion)
1 green bell pepper, chopped
4-5 carrots, chopped (I love carrots in soups and stews!)
2 red potatoes with skin on, chopped in bite sized pieces
1 jalapeno, diced (use gloves when handling)

Sourdough bread
White aged cheddar, shredded

In a large pot, add broth and tomatoes. Bring to a bowl.

In a medium bowl, add all ingredients for meatballs and mix together with your hands. Form little walnut shaped balls and plop into boiling soup.

Chop all the veggies and add to soup. Add garlic. Bring to a low, simmer and cover for about 40 minutes, until carrots and potatoes are fork tender.

When soup is almost ready, slice the bread, top with cheese and toast in oven until cheese melts. Broil for the last minute or so to get some color.

Enjoy!

Grilled Chicken with Parmesan Mashed Potatoes

Ben's dinner with no green onions in his mashed potaotes and cucmber instead of broccoli.



2 chicken breasts, marinated in Italian dressing over night
1 large Russet potato, cubed
¼ cup cream
3-4 slices of butter
¼ cup of freshly shredded Parmesan cheese
1 bunch of green onions
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cups of broccoli or sliced cucumbers

Heat grill for chicken. Grill chicken until no longer pink in the middle.

Boil potato until fork tender, about 10 minutes. Drain. Add cream, butter, salt and pepper and mash together until smooth. Mix in cheese and green onions.

Steam broccoli by adding broccoli crowns to a shallow bowl with a little water at the bottom. Cover with clear wrap and microwave for 2-3 minutes.

Plate chicken, mashed potatoes and veggie of choice. Top broccoli with extra cheese or add a little salt to cucumber slices.

Special Saturday Breakfast

Pillsbury biscuits

Home-style herbed potatoes
1 large Russet potato, cubed into small pieces
¼ small red onion, chopped
¼ - ½ green bell pepper, chopped
1-2 garlic cloves, minced
Sprig of Rosemary, minced
Handful of parsley, minced
Salt & Pepper to taste
EVOO

Eggs Scramble
2 eggs
A few sprigs of chives, minced
¼ cup of shredded Cheddar cheese
Salt & Pepper to taste
Dash of Tabasco
EVOO

Heat oven to 350 degrees for biscuits. Brush top of biscuits with egg for a nice, brown top. Bake for 13-15 minutes.

Heat EVOO in skillet over medium-high heat. Add potatoes and brown. When potatoes start become soft and translucent around the edges, about 15 minutes or so, turn down heat, add onion, bell pepper and garlic. Cover with lid and occasionally sauté until veggies get soft and potatoes are tender when poked with a fork. Sprinkle with herbs towards the end, right before veggies are done.

Heat EVOO in skillet over medium-high heat. Scramble eggs in a bowl, add salt, pepper, and a dash of Tabasco. Scramble eggs in skillet. Once eggs are almost done, mix in chives. Once everything is plated, top eggs with cheese.

Plate eggs, potatoes and a biscuit. Enjoy with a Bloody Mary or Mimosa!

Grilled Chicken with Rotini Pasta Salad

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
¼ cup BBQ sauce

Pasta salad
2 cups of rotini pasta
¼ of a green bell pepper, diced
3 green onion bunches, sliced
I small can of sliced black olives, drained
¼ cup of cheddar cheese, cubed
¼ cup of pepper Jack cheese, cubed
5+ cherry tomatoes halved or quartered depending on how big they are
1 small jar of quartered artichoke hearts, might want to cut them in half if they are large quarters, drained
Handful of parsley, chopped
2-3 Tbsp of pesto from a jar
EVOO
Juice from ½ lemon
Salt and pepper to taste

Add chicken and BBQ sauce to a zip lock bag or bowl to marinate. Heat up grill.

Boil pasta until tender, drain and let cool. Chop, slice and cube your veggies, cheese and herbs. Once pasta is cool, toss with a drizzle of EVOO. Add pesto to pasta and mix. Add veggies, cheese and parsley. Add lemon juice and parsley, mix everything together. Add salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate until chicken is done.

Grill chicken until done, until no longer pink in the middle.

Note: The longer the pasta salad sits, the better it will taste. You can make the day before or eat the next day as yummy left overs. Another potluck or BBQ favorite that’s easy to make.

Pork Tenderloin with Dirty Rice

I just put this dinner together using leftover pork from the previous night's grill out, made with my version of "dirty rice."

Grilled pork tenderloin, sliced (leftover from BBQ night before)
1 cup of Basmati rice
2 cups of water
Taco seasoning, about ¼ packet
1 can of red beans (Louisiana style), drained
Few dashes of Cholula hot sauce
Salt
¾ - 1 cup of frozen, chopped spinach (I also use Collard greens)
6 cherry tomatoes, halved

Add rice, water and taco seasoning to rice cooker. Midway through, around 10 minutes, add beans, spinach and a Cholula. Salt to taste.

Reheat sliced tenderloin in a hot frying pan.

When rice is done, plate with pork and tomatoes.

Israeli Couscous Salad

This is a great dish for potlucks and BBQs. It’s light and full of flavor. I found that people who don’t typically like couscous still love this dish. The couscous is more like little pasta balls than the traditional grainy couscous.

Couscous salad
2 cups Israeli couscous (buy from the Kosher or International section of the grocery store)
About 6 mini red & yellow bell peppers, diced
1/3 of a Chinese cucumber, diced
2-3 stalks of green onion stalks (3 whole bundles), diced
¼ cup of Kalamata olives, diced
1 package of crumbled feta cheese (I used one seasoned with garlic and lemon)
Zest of one lemon

Vinaigrette
¼ cup of EVOO
1 Tbsp of Balsamic vinegar
1 tsp of Grey Poupon mustard
1 tsp of sugar
1 tsp of salt
Juice from ½ a lemon
Handful of minced Italian flat leaf parsley and cilantro
Pepper to taste

Make couscous accordingly to directions on box. Once done, let cool.

Mix ingredients for vinaigrette together and whisk well.

Add chopped veggies, olives, feta cheese and lemon zest to couscous. Mix all together. Add vinaigrette and mix throughout salad. Add more salt and pepper if necessary.

Grilled Salmon and Pesto Fettuccine w Peppers and Artichokes

2 servings

2 salmon filets
William Sonoma’s seafood seasoning
4 mini bell peppers (orange and red), sliced in rings
2-3 canned artichoke hearts, quartered
2 garlic cloves, minced
Pesto sauce
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese
EVOO

Heat grill for salmon.

Cook fettuccine, following directions on box. Grill salmon until it’s cooked all the way through (about 10-13 minutes). Poke with a fork. If it flakes easily, it's done. Don't over cook. You want it a little pink in the middle.

Heat EVOO in a skillet. Sauté peppers in pan until soft. Add garlic and artichokes towards the end, sauté for 1-2 more minutes.

Drain pasta, mix with pesto sauce.

Plate salmon with fettuccine, top with peppers and artichokes. Top with Parmesan cheese.

Steak with Dirty Mediterranean Rice

This is an easy recipe that was super tasty! Perfect for a summer dinner. I always put Ben in charge of the grilling and I take care of the chopping and the stove top. Ben also came up with the name of the rice!

2 servings

2 New York steaks
Steak seasoning (Mrs. Dash and salt)
½ cup of basmati rice
1 cup of water
1 zucchini, chopped
¼ small red onion, diced
½ small jar of marinated artichoke hearts, chopped
About 10 kalamata olives, chopped
1 tsp of EVOO

Heat grill. Cook rice in pot or rice cooker.

Grill steaks to likeness.

Heat EVOO in a skillet. Sauté zucchini and onion for a few minutes until onion is translucent. Add salt to taste.

Once rice is done add artichoke hearts and olives, and sautéed zucchini and onions.

Once steak if finished grilling, plate with rice.

Note: Use the “touch test” to cook your steak. Touch the middle of your steak with your finger, if it’s soft like your cheek, it’s medium rare; if it’s more firm like the tip of your nose, it’s medium; if it’s hard like your forehead, it’s well done.

Italian-Sausage Burgers with Garlicky Spinach

I found this awesome recipe in this month’s issue of Food & Wine and modified it slightly. It has introduced me to cooking with meat from sausage links. It’s so quick and easy to do. The meat is already seasoned, and from my experience so far, stays really moist (if you don’t overcook it, of course).

2 Servings

½ bag of pre-washed baby spinach
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 hot & spicy Italian sausage links, remove from casings
Monterey Jack cheese
2 Tbsp of mayo
1 tsp of pesto
1 Tbsp of chopped sun-dried tomato
A few rings of red onion
2 ciabatta rolls
Slices of salted cucumbers
EVOO (If you don’t know what this is, I’m not going to tell you. Your welcome, Rachel.)

Heat grill for burgers.

Using wet hands, make patties out of sausage. Brush both sides of patties with EVOO. Grill patties over medium heat, about 5 minutes on each side. After flipping burger, top with cheese. Add buns to grill to toast.

Heat EVOO in skillet, add spinach. Sauté until almost wilted, then add garlic. Sauté for a few minutes until garlic is translucent. Set aside.

Mix mayo, pesto and sun-dried tomato. Spread pesto on rolls, when they are done toasting. Top burgers with spinach and red onions. Serve with cucumber slices.

Note: If you want more garlic flavor, add garlic at the end of cooking the spinach, like I did. If you want less garlic flavor, sauté the garlic first and then sauté spinach.

Stuffed Bell Peppers with Couscous

3 servings

3 green bell peppers
2 Chicken Southwestern Sausage links (1 lb total) from Henry’s (the sausages are made with chicken, peppers, garlic and onion)
1 box of East Pearled Couscous (basil & herb)
2-4 red & orange mini bell peppers - chopped
2 oz goat cheese – pull chunks apart with your fingers


Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Cut tops of peppers, so you have a little “cup” to fill. Remove sausage from castings. Using wet hands, fill peppers with sausage. Don’t stuff too tight or it won’t cook.

Put stuffed peppers in a shallow casserole dish, cover with aluminum foil and cook for approx. 40 minutes or until center of sausage is no longer pink.

Make couscous using directions on box. Once cooked, let cool. Toss with chopped orange & red peppers and goat cheese chunks.

Plate couscous first, making a ring on the plate. Place stuffed bell pepper in the middle.

Shrimp with Broccoli Pesto and Alfredo Pasta

2 Servings (with left overs)

I first made this Double Broccoli Quinoa recipe (http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/double-broccoli-quinoa-recipe.html) the night before, so I had broccoli pesto left over and decided to use the left overs this way. The recipe below includes the whole amount for the Double Broccoli Quinoa recipe, but I only used half the pesto for the recipe below.

5 cups raw broccoli, cut into small florets and stems
3 medium garlic cloves
2/3 cup sliced or slivered almonds, toasted
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan
2 big pinches salt
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup heavy cream
Alfredo sauce packet
1 cup of milk
Freshly grated parmesan cheese
Fresh cracked pepper - to taste

Steam broccoli by putting broccoli in a shallow bowl with ½ inch of water, cover with Saran wrap and microwave on high for 3 minutes. Uncover and drain excess water.

To make the broccoli pesto puree two cups of the cooked broccoli, the garlic, 1/2 cup of the almonds, Parmesan, salt, and lemon juice in a food processor. Drizzle in the olive oil and cream and pulse until smooth.

Make Alfredo sauce according to package (cup of milk and cheese powder). Add broccoli pesto puree to Alfredo sauce and mix together.

Cook pasta according to directions. I used Ditalini and/or Farfalle.

Heat butter and garlic in a hot frying pan. Sauté shrimp for 3 minutes. No longer, otherwise this will make them rubbery.

Drain pasta and mix with broccoli pesto and Alfredo combo sauce. Top with shrimp, parmesan and pepper.