Mini Chicken and Prosciutto Quiches

These are perfect for on-the-go days when you need something substantial enough to keep you going for a few hours but you’re not ready for a full-on meal.

Ingredients:

·         1 chicken breast

·         3 slices prosciutto

·         ½ cup spinach

·         4 jalepenos

·         6 cloves garlic

·         3 tablespoons mayo

·         ¼  cup grated parmesan cheese

·         1 egg

·         12 mini tart shells, frozen

Directions:

1.      Preheat the oven to 400 F. Slice the jalapenos in half lengthwise and remove the seeds and membranes. Peel the cloves of garlic and place them in a 8x8 baking dish, cover with foil. Roast them in the middle of the oven for 20 minutes.

2.      Meanwhile, preheat a skillet to medium heat. Chop your chicken into ½” cubes put them in the skillet. Roughly chop the prosciutto and add it to the pan. Once the chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes, add the spinach and turn off the heat. Stir the chicken mixture to let the spinach wilt and set it aside to cool.

3.      Once the jalapenos and garlic are finished roasting, remove them from the oven and transfer them to a bowl. Using a small knife and fork, roughly mash/chop the jalapenos and garlic into a paste-like consistency. Mix in the mayo and parmesan, then add the chicken mixture.

4.      Crack the egg onto the bowl of filling, then mix it for a few minutes to make sure everything is evenly combined.

5.      Spoon the mixture into the thawed pastry shells, then bake for 15-20 minutes at 375 F.

6.      Remove them from the oven when the crust is golden, then let them cool for 5 minutes before scarfing down.

Spanakopita

This is a really delicious recipe that is perfect for parties. I have a hard time resisting these delicate triangles, so I always make extra to keep frozen for when I have a hankerin' for them!

Yes, this is a tedious recipe, it takes time and a bit of planning on your part, but once you bite into the crispy phyllo and your mouth fills with the tangy goodness of spinach and feta, trust me, you'll be glad you made them with love.

Ingredients:

• 1 bag frozen spinach
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1/2 small yellow onion
• 1 cup feta
• 1/4 cup cream cheese
• Dried dill, pepper, cumin, and parlsey, to taste
• Phyllo dough, thawed
•  Oil for brushing

 Directions:

1. The key to this recipe is organization: prepare your work stations properly! First, finely chop the onion and garlic, set aside with the frozen spinach. Add about 2 tablespoons olive oil to a shallow bowl and set it next to a large cutting board, on which you will assemble the spanakopita (now is when you should find your brush for the dough! I use an unused paintbrush). Mix the feta and cream cheese in a medium bowl, seasoning to taste with the suggested spices, set it next to the brushing oil you just prepared. 
2. Heat a medium sauce pan over low heat. Add a splash of oil and the garlic and onion. Sweat the veggies until they are translucent. Add the spinach, turn the heat to medium and cover. Let it cook for 5 minutes, then stir it and cover again. Cook 5 more minutes, then turn the heat to medium high and let it cook uncovered so the water from the spinach cooks off. 
3. Remove the spinach from the heat and add it to the cheese you prepared earlier. Mix well to combine, and add spices to taste. 
4. Unroll the phyllo dough and leave it stacked. Cut the phyllo into 2 long 3" wide stacks. Roll the uncut phyllo up and wrap it tightly with plastic wrap and put it back in it's box. Leave it on the side in case you need to cut more strips of dough. Place the stacks on top of each other, then top them with a lightly damp paper towel (make sure it is thoroughly squeezed out or your dough will get soggy).
5. Working with one strip of dough at a time, begin to assemble the spanakopita. Place a strip across your cutting board or work surface horizontally and get going (hint: see the illustrations below for how to assemble these!)
1.  Lightly brush the right half of the strip with oil (you are doing this to basically seal the triangles as you finish folding them). 
2. Place a generous teaspoon of the spinach mix at the left-hand end of the strip. 
3. Take the bottom left corner and bring it up to the top of the strip to form a triangle.
4. Take the top left corner(the new point to your triangle) and fold it over to the right. Repeat folding (like a flag!!) until you have a little triangle! Repeat until you're out of spinach mix.
5. Bake at 375 F in the middle of the oven for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Let them cool a few minutes before serving because they're piping hot!

Red Wine Short Ribs with Mushrooms

I have a secret -- short ribs are really, really, really easy to make. They just sound like they are complicated and froufrou-y. Do you know what the key is to juicy, tender, melting short ribs? Time, baby, time. If you pop your short ribs into the oven for an hour, they will be tough and dry and you'd probably feel bad giving them to your dog to gnaw on. However, if you put them in a slow cooker on low for 12 hours you will end up with short ribs that slide right off the bone when you go to pick them up, meat that falls apart if you even whisper at it (you will whisper at it, you'll be whispering sweet nothings when you open that lid and take a whiff).
So all you need to do is gather the ingredients, put them in your slow cooker, and then forget about it for 12 hours. Easy.

Serves 4


Ingredients:

• 6 short ribs
• 1/2 bottle red wine (I used Shiraz)
• 2 cups water
• 1 fresh sprig of rosemary
• 12 white mushrooms

* I use water and not broth because I find that broth, even the low-sodium kind, is too salty for this kind of cooking. We want to leave an unadulterated red wine taste in these ribs!




Directions:

1. Clean your mushrooms by wiping them down with a damp paper towel. Slice the stems halfway down to cut off the dry ends, then chop each mushroom in half. 
2. Place your mushrooms in the slow cooker followed by your short ribs and the sprig of rosemary. Pour the red wine and water into the slow cooker then turn it on low. Cook this for 12 (or more!) hours. 
3. When you are ready to take the ribs out, use a pair of tongs to take them out of the slow cooker, then using a slotted spoon take out the mushrooms as well. 

How to serve it:
I placed a big spoonful of mashed potatoes in the middle of each plate, then topped it with 1 short rib and 3 mushrooms. If you want a juicier plate, add a spoonful or two of your reduced red wine from the slow cooker.

I found that when I went to remove the ribs from the slow cooker they were so melty that they literally fell off the bone back into the sauce, so my servings were less of a rib and more like spoonfuls of melt-in-your-mouth meat.

Enjoy!

Panko Fried Shrimp

I am not big on frying things for one reason: the aftermath. Where do I store the oil? Why is my stove top covered in little spots of oil? What if I fry off my pinky? Ahhhh, run away!

Well, the night I was feeling brave and energetic and I thought, no problem, I will faux fry! What is faux fry, you ask? I only put a minimal amount of oil in a stainless steel pan so I didn't have tons of oil to deal with later, and stainless steel ensured that my little shrimpies didn't stick to the pan. Perfecto! Next time I'm going to throw in a little shredded coconut and make coconut shrimp.


Ingredients:

• Thawed, peeled, deveined, and cooked shrimp
• 2 cups panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
• 2 eggs
• Oil for pan (I use canola!)

Directions:

1. Beat the eggs in a bowl and pour the panko into a separate bowl. Feel free to season the panko with anything you want! Put your shrimp in a bowl or plate for easy grabbing. Hint: you are setting up your cooking station! I put my shrimp, eggs and panko bowls right next to my stove top so I could simply dip the shrimp into the eggs, dip them in the panko, then pop them into the oil. 
2.  Heat enough oil to cover the pan's bottom about 1/8" to medium heat. You can test the oil by dropping in a tiny panko crumb: if it sizzles and bubbles, load 'em in the pan! If it just sinks and nothing exciting happens, wait another minute. 
3. While you're waiting for the oil to heat up, start dipping your shrimp one at a time into the eggs then the panko, making sure to coat them completely with panko! 
4. Cook the shrimp in batches (don't crowd the pan!), only about 15 seconds per side. Place them on a paper-towel-lined plate and repeat until you're finished cooking all of them! 

Enjoy!


Possible dipping sauces: sweet Thai chili, barbeque, soy, ponzu, garlic aioli

Roast Beef and Carrot-Tater Mash

Roast beef is a classic dish for one reason in my books: it's the dish that keeps on giving... roast beef leftovers are fantastic! I have roast beef sandwiches (I use this carrot-tater mash as spread, it's divine), beef stroganof, beef stir-fry with snow peas and water chestnuts, beef burritos... oh man. I set myself up for a week of delicious and easy meals when I make roast beef. But when it's fresh out of the oven, oh boy, I have to have roast beef and mashed potatoes!


Makes: 8 servings roast and potatoes


Ingredients:

• 1 eye of round roast
• 1 small yellow onion
• 1 cup red wine
• Sprig of rosemary
• 3 russet potatoes
• 3 medium-sized carrots
• 3 tablespoons butter
  
• 2 cups milk, room temperature
  
• 1/2 cup feta cheese
  

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 F. Season the eye of round generously with salt, pepper, and cumin then place in a baking dish. 
2. Roughly chop the onion then place around the roast (I use an 8x8" pan so the onion is packed in right next to the roast). Drizzle the roast with a bit of canola oil, then pour the red wine over the onions. 
3. Bake the roast uncovered in the middle of the oven for 20 minutes per pound. 
4. When there is 20 minutes left for the roast, begin prepping the Carrot-Tater Mash by peeling the mashed potatoes and carrots. Chop them into 2 inch pieces then place them in a large pot, then cover with water. Bring to a boil, then turn to medium heat and cook at a fast simmer until the carrots are fork tender. 
5. Remove the roast from the oven when it's finished roasting, (the potatoes and carrots should still be simmering) then set on a cutting board and tent loosely with foil. Let the meat rest for at least 15-20 minutes before slicing.
   
6. Drain the carrots and potatoes, then place them in a large bowl. Blend them on low with an immersion blender, gradually adding in the butter, milk, and feta. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve with the roasted eye of round. 

Enjoy!


Suggestion: You can use the red wine roasted onions for a topping or blend them into a gravy if desired, or you may just discard them.

Chicken Sandwiches with Cambozola and Roasted Garlic

I love using leftover chicken or turkey or beef for my sandwiches! There is something about eating a sandwich with leftover meat or poultry, it's like the homemade-ness of it lends a deeper flavor (or maybe just a deeper satisfaction in knowing that you're using up leftovers!).

I try to roast up something each week, like a chicken or a big beef roast so that I can have easy leftovers throughout the week to have on hand for my meals that week. One of the best and easiest ways to use up leftover meat is to put it in a sandwich! I love sandwiches with pretty much anything on them (it's a curse, really), but I do have a few favorite flavor combos and this is on the top of my list. It does call for a few extra steps that usually go against the whole "quick and easy" nature of sandwiches (see the roasted garlic recipe at the end), but trust me, it's soooo worth it.


Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup chopped chicken
  
• 2 slices sourdough bread
• 1 tablespoon peach chutney
• Cambozola wedge (may use brie if you don't like the chunks of blue cheese in cambozola) 
• 2-4 cloves roasted garlic (or as many as you prefer!)

Directions: 

1. Preheat the oven to 425 F. 
2. Slice as many pieces of cambozola as desired to put on one piece of sourdough (I like 3 medium-sized slices). 
3. Spread the garlic cloves across one slice of sourdough. On the other slice, spread the chutney.
   
4. Put the cambozola on the garlic-spread slice of bread, and top the chutney-spread slice with chicken.  Put the sandwich halves face up on a baking sheet and bake for 8 minutes. 
5. Remove the open sandwich from the oven, then put the sandwich together. Eat while it's hot!

Enjoy!




Simple Roasted Garlic: 
Preheat the oven to 425 F. Slice off the top 1/2 inch of a head of garlic, so that each bulb is exposed on top. Place the head on a square of foil, drizzle with olive oil. Wrap the foil up around the garlic head and pinch it shut. Place in the middle rack of the oven and bake for 30 minutes, or until the garlic is fork tender. Let cool for 5 minutes, then use a knife to pop out each garlic clove, reserve in a small jar or even a ziploc bag. Hint: roasted garlic can punch up any dish... think mashed potatoes, quiches, pizza, alfredo/marinara sauce... the list goes on!

Ponzu-glazed Asparagus

Ponzu sauce is one of my new obsessions. It's perfect for dipping eggrolls or skewered chicken, it's yummy tossed with rice noodles and prawns, and glazed onto your favorite veggies like snow peas, baby corn, green beans, or, like this recipe, asparagus.  This is my favorite way to eat asparagus now!


P.S. this is the perfect side dish for my Asian-style ribs.

Makes 4 small side servings

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 3 tablespoons water
• 4 tablespoons ponzu
• 1 bundle of asparagus
  
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced

Directions:

1. Chop off the tough end of each stalk of asparagus and mince the garlic, set aside.
   
2. Heat a large skillet to medium-high heat. Once the pan is hot, add the asparagus and water (in that order). Cook the asparagus until barely tender, about 4 minutes. Pour out the excess water (if there's any left), then add the butter, garlic, and ponzu. Simmer over low for 15 minutes, until ponzu has reduced to a glaze. Serve hot!

 Enjoy!