Basic Vegetable Pie

I love savory pies and tarts, and when you cheat and use store bought crust they are super easy and delicious! You can throw in any combination of vegetables that you crave, so it really is a limitless, easy meal or snack.

The basic essentials are the crust, an egg, and a few tablespoons of cheese, and everything else is up to you!

Ingredients:

• Crust (pie shell, puff pastry, etc.)
• 1 egg
• 3 tablespoons cheese (feta, goat, shredded cheddar, etc.)
• Vegetables (lightly sauteed to reduce wateriness) 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 F. Chop and saute your veggies (combination suggestions are at the bottom of the post!), then spread them over the crust. Beat the egg and the cheese, adding a splash of milk to thin it out if necessary. Pour the egg mixture over the veggies, and bake for 15-20 minutes until crust is deep golden and the filling has set. 
2. Cool for 20-30 minutes, then serve! 

Enjoy!

Filling combinations:

• zucchini, mushrooms, garlic
• jalepenos, corn, green chiles
• peas, broccoli, garlic, green pepper
• caramelized onions, mushrooms

Farfalle with Spicy Tomato Meat Sauce

I first had this dish when I was ten years old. My aunt whipped this up at her house, and it was game over for everyone in my family. Best. Pasta. Ever.

We have always called it "farfalle" but that's actually just the name of the noodle we use! You can use the full name that I just made up because I didn't want you to think I just posted on how to boil noodles... or you can just call it Farfalle like I do.

Whatever you call it, prepare to become addicted. Seriously, 10+ years and the deliciousness of this dish has not worn off at all for me!

These are just general guidelines for this dish -- make it your own by adding more or less of any the ingredients to suit your hungry belly!

Ingredients:
Hot Jimmy Dean Sausage (or 16 oz. of ground pork sausage)
1 large can of crushed tomatoes
4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1/2 yellow onion,diced
1 green bell pepper, diced


Directions:

1. Heat a large skillet to medium-high heat. Bring a large pot of water to boil, satl generously, and cook the noodles as directed. Drain them and put them back into the pot with a splash of olive oil.
2. Add the sausage once the pan is hot, breaking it apart to avoid big clumps of sausage. After two minutes of browning, add in the garlic, onions, and peppers. Cook until the sausage is cooked through, stirring occasionally (roughly 8-10 minutes).
3. Add the desired spices (dried oregano, basil, pepper, salt, red pepper flakes, etc.) and stir to mix in. Add the tomatoes, cook until heated through.
4. Pour the meat sauce over the noodles and serve immediately. 

Enjoy! This pasta dish goes great with a mixed green salad or a plateful of asparagus! 

Ways to tweak it: add more or less garlic, ditch the onions for picky eaters, add a teaspoon (or more!) of cayenne to give it extra kick, use regular sausage instead of spicy, add in other veggies like zucchini or corn... anything you like!

Asian-style Ribs

Ribs ribs ribs! The first time I made ribs I baked them in the oven... and I was pretty stressed out by the end of the day because after all of my brushing and basting and slow-cooking, they were a tad dry. There is nothing worse than dry pork ribs! However, last summer I purchased a slow-cooker and ever since then I've never had a worry in my mind about dry ribs. 

If you don't own a slow-cooker, I highly recommend taking the plunge -- I bought mine, a very basic 3 qt. slow-cooker with either low or high settings for about $30, and next time I will lay down the big bucks for a self-shut off and timer. 

You can change up the sauce if you don't like Asian-style ribs, but these are especially delicious alongside Veitnamese spring rolls, salad with sesame ginger dressing, or sauteed veggies with soy sauce.




NOTE: Start making these ribs 7 1/2 hours before you want to serve them! About 7 hours and 15 minutes go to actual cooking time, so just reserve about 5 minutes at the start, a few minutes at the 6 hour mark to fiddle around, and a few more minutes at the 7 hour mark to transfer them to the oven.


Ingredients:

• 1 rack of ribs (or more, depending how large your slow-cooker is)
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon sriracha
• 2 tablespoons garlic chili paste
• 3 cloves of garlic, pressed or finely minced
• 1 teaspoon of grated fresh ginger (or half teaspoon dry ground ginger)
• 4 tablespoons sweet chili sauce (or any other asian sauce like hoisin or teriyaki)

Directions:

1. Cut up the ribs into large sections, and fit it all into the slow cooker. 
2. In a small bowl, mix the soy sauce, brown sugar, sriracha, garlic chili paste, garlic, ginger and seasonings until combined. Pour over the ribs in the slow-cooker.
3. Turn the slow-cooker on low heat and let the ribs cook untouched for 6 hours. 
4. After 6 hours you can rearrange the ribs to get the top ones down into the sauce, making sure to spoon sauce over all of the ribs first. Add more soy sauce if it is getting low. 
5. Preheat the oven to 450 F and slow-cook the ribs on high for another hour. Transfer the ribs to a foil-lined and lightly greased baking sheet, spreading them out to be in a single layer. Brush the sweet chili sauce over the ribs on the top-side (this is where you can use your imagination and use whatever asian-style sauce you like).
6. Bake on the top third of the oven for 15-25 minutes, depending on how crisp you want the ribs to be.

Enjoy!