Tahini

Add 1 cup of sesame seeds into a dry fry pan and warm until the seeds become fragrant.  Do not brown.  Add the seeds to a small food processor.  Blend until the seeds are chopped pretty good.  Add 4 TBSP olive oil and puree a long time until the Tahini turns into a thick wet paste.  It is almost like peanut butter but a little more fluid.  It will be added to the hummus and the Baba Ganoush.  Place into a container, cover and set aside.

Roasted Red Pepper and Jalapeno Hummus

Slice the four side off 2 red bell peppers.  De-seed.  Cut a jalapeño down the center and de-seed.  Brush on olive oil and cook in the center rack at 450° oven, the bell pepper for 35 minutes skin side up and the jalapeño skin side up for 10 minutes.  Let cool then remove the skin from both the pepper and the  jalapeño.  In a large food processor add the peppers, jalapeño, 1 can drain Garbanzo beans (Chick peas), 2 minced garlic cloves, 1 tsp smoked paprika, ½ small lemon juice, ½ tsp cumin, 4 TBSP Tahini, pinch of cayenne and S&P.  Chop into a thick rustic blend.  Refrigerate a couple of hours before serving.  The flavors need to meld. 

Baba Ganoush (Roasted Eggplant)

Choose a male eggplant.  Look for a round navel.  The long thin navels are female and have too many seeds.  Poke holes in the eggplant skin.  Cut the eggplant in half long ways and place cut side down on a cookie sheet.  Roast in a 450° oven 35 minutes.  Scrape the eggplant meat into a large bowl and discard the skin.  Add minced garlic and salt and with a potato masher mash the meat.  Then add 1 TBSP lemon juice, 1 TBSP Tahini sauce, a dash of cayenne pepper and 1 TBSP olive oil.  Taste and add more of what you think it needs.  Take a whisk and whisk all together.  Place in a covered container and refrigerate a couple of hours.  The flavors need to meld. 

Roasted Chicken Thigh

Trim the skin.  Cut 2 slices into the skin side of the chicken perpendicular to the bone.  This helps the chicken cook faster.  Cook in oven at 450° for 1 hour.  Remove and cool.  Save the chicken juice for the Vinaigrette.  When cool cut the chicken off the bone and into pieces to top the salad.

Balsamic Vinaigrette

• 6 TBSP olive oil
• 1 TBSP balsamic vinegar
• 1 TBSP Dijon mustard
• 1 TBSP Worcestershire
• 1 TBSP honey
• Salt and Pepper
• Add the chicken juice 

Add all ingredients in a bowl and whisk.

Brown Rice

Cook 1 cup of rice in a rice cooker, following the directions.

Saláta

• Canned corn drained or fresh
• Diced tomato
• Diced cucumber
• Spinach leaves with stalk removed

Assemble the Saláta

Add the brown rice, veggies, chicken, a spoon full of hummus and a spoon full of Baba Ganoush.  Pour Vinaigrette onto the salad one TBSP at a time.

As of 3/19/23

Click on pic to enlarge

Serves 2

1 tbsp veg oil
1 long stick of Andouille sausage cut into ¼ inch coins

Mirepoix
½ yellow onion, chopped
2 medium carrots, chopped
1 cloves garlic, pressed
1 leek, rinsed and chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped or New Orleans style substitute chopped green bell

1 medium potato, cut into bite-size cubes
1 can of stewed tomatoes, w/basil crushed in a food processor
1 cup of dry white wine
1 cup of chicken broth or as needed
1 tsp Worcestershire
1 medium bay leaf
S&P to taste

In a cast iron Dutch Oven add the oil and lightly brown the Andouille and remove.

Add the Mirepoix and sauté on low and slow for 15 minutes.
Add the wine and deglaze the pan.
Add the broth, potato, crushed stewed tomatoes, Worcestershire, bay leaf, return the sausage and cook covered on medium low until the potatoes are cooked (~45 minutes).

As of 2/24/23

Click on pic to enlarge

Serves 2

¼ onion, chopped
1 or 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 cups egg noodles or Fettuccine for two
McCormick Montreal Chicken Seasoning
Pinch cayenne
1 garlic clove, pressed
Dash dry white wine
15 oz. Classico Four Cheese Alfredo
1 small can of mushroom pieces, drained
1 cup of spinach with stems removed or broccoli
A little grated parmesan from a bottle
Hand grated parmesan cheese from a hard block (2 different floavors)
Rough grated Mozzarella cheese
Chopped Italian parsley with a little left over to sprinkle on top
2 TBSP olive oil
S&P

Preheat oven to 350°.

Season the chicken breast both sides with McCormick Montreal Chicken Seasoning. In a Dutch Oven on medium heat add oil and brown the chicken both sides. Doesn’t have to be cooked completely. The rest will cook in the oven. Remove. Slice the breast down the center long ways (butterfly it into two pieces). On the pink side add more Montreal seasoning and brown that side. Remove and cut into bite size piece.

Boil the noodles in rolling boil in salted water for exactly 12 minutes. “ALL” dried pasta takes exactly 12 minutes. Not 11, not 13, exactly 12 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Add 1 TBSP oil to the pan and on lower heat sauté the onions until an aroma occurs. Add the wine. Stir the bottom of the pan to get the “fond” off the bottom. Add the mushrooms. Add the jar of Alfredo. Add a dash of cayenne. Add the spinach and stir in. Add the chicken. Add the garlic. Add the noodles. Add the parsley. Add a slight touch of salt and pepper. Mix good. Add some more grated Parmesan cheese on top (both kinds) and then rough grated Mozzarella cheese.

Place the Dutch Oven on the center rack of the oven with the lid on and cook for 30 minutes. Remove.

Plate and sprinkle left over fresh chopped parsley on top and serve.

As of 2/8/23

Click on pic to enlarge

2 eggs
2 TBSP water
½ tsp clarified butter
dash of oil

2 cups fresh spinach with stems removed
1 slice if thick ham ~2” wide
½ inch of Swiss cheese cut from a block and shredded
¼ cup of thinly sliced and chopped red onion

In a large skillet add oil brown the ham, remove from the pan and chop into ¼ inch pieces.

Add the spinach and wilt just a little bit. Remove.

Whisk the eggs and water in a bowl.

In a small 8” non-stick fry pan, melt the butter on medium heat. Pour in the eggs and as the eggs begin to cook push back the edges so the center wet eggs are able to get to the hot edge of the pan. When the eggs start to harden without the bottom browning, flip the egg and cook the other side briefly. Pour the eggs omelet onto a plate.

Add the spinach, ham, red onion and cheese to the center. Fold over one edge. Place the omelet into a microwave and cook high for 20 seconds so the cheese melts without over cooking the egg. The egg should be soft and moist.

As of 1/28/23