Greek Pasta Salad

1-1/4 cups uncooked orzo (8 oz)

2 cups chopped cucumber

1/2 cup chopped red onion

1/2 cup Greek dressing- creamy or viniagrette (or Italian if you can't find it)

1 medium tomato, chopped (about 3/4 cup)

1 can (15-16 oz) garbanzo beans/chick peas, rinsed and drained

1 can (4 oz) sliced olives, drained

1/2 cup crumbled Feta cheese (2 oz)

Cook and drain pasta as directed on package. Rinse with cold water; drain.

Mix pasta and remaining ingredients (except cheese) in glass or plastic bowl. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour to blend flavors but no longer than 24 hours.

Top salad with cheese when ready to serve.

Creamy Spinach & Tomato Tortellini

1 pkg. 16 oz. tortellini
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 c. chopped onion
3 garlic cloves minced
1 pkg. 9 oz. frozen, chopped spinach, thawed
1 c. chopped fresh tomatoes or canned
1/4 c. fresh chopped basil OR 1 1/2 tsp. dried basil leaves
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2- 1 c. heavy whipping cream OR evaporated milk
1/4- 1/2 c. grated parmesan cheese

Cook tortellini to desired doneness as directed on package. Drain; keep warm. Meanwhile, heat oil in Lg. skillet over medium heat until hot. Add onions and garlic; cook until tender & lightly browned, about 4 minutes. Add spinach, tomatoes, basil, salt & pepper; cook 5 minutes stirring occassionally. Stir in whipping cream OR evaporated milk and parmesan cheese. Cook until mixture just comes to a boil. Reduce heat to low and stir in cooked tortellini. Cook an additional 4 or 5 minutes or until thoroughly heated. -serve with additional parmesean cheese if desired.
A Family Favorite!!!
-serves 4

Cafe Rio Tomatillio Ranch Dressing

Mix the following in a blender:
1pkg  buttermilk ranch dressing, or 3 Tbl of the same
1 cup mayo
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup cilantro
3 tomatillios peeled
3 cloves garlic
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper ( I just use a dash- cause I don't want it so spicy)

I also throw in the juice of 1/2 a lime.  Makes it a little runnier, but for me, yummier.

Indonesian Chicken Breast

1/2 cup orange juice

                                                      1/4 cup peanut butter

2 tsp curry

4 chicken breasts

Mix and marinade the chicken for at least an hour.  Grill, or put  it all in a pan and cook it on the stove top.  

1/4 cup toasted coconut

1/4 cup currants

Top with coconut and currants.  Serve over regular rice or coconut rice.  Soooo easy and Sooooo good!

Fish Tacos

For the fish:


1lb fish, skinned and de-boned, cut into chunks about the size of your palm. (I would suggest a meaty yet flaky white fish, like mahi mahi or cod.

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 tsp ground coriander

2 tsp ancho chili powder

1 tsp ground garlic powder

Pinch of cinnamon

Salt & pepper



For the mayo:

1/2 cup store bought (or homemade, you fancy pants!) mayonnaise

1 large bulb green garlic, or 2 cloves regular garlic, chopped

2 tsp ground cumin, toasted in a pan over medium-low heat until fragrant

8 sprigs mint, leaves picked, stalks discarded

Juice of 1 lime

Salt and pepper



For the tacos:

10 corn tortillas

1/4 head of green cabbage, shredded

Pickled banana pepper strips (optional)

Mexican spring onion, white part only, minced finely

1 lime, cut into 8 wedges



1) Marinate the fish: In a bowl, combine oil, spices, salt and pepper. Add fish and make sure each piece is coated with the marinade. Let sit for 20 – 30 minutes.



2) Make mayo: Put mayo, garlic, mint, cumin and lime juice in a food processor. Whizz until smooth. Season with salt, pepper and more lime juice if necessary. Pour into a bowl and set aside.



3) Grab a large nonstick saute pan, and warm it gently over medium heat; no need to add oil since the fish is already coated in oil. Once warm (test by sprinkling some water into the pan, if it sizzles and evaporates, you’re ready), place each piece of fish in the pan. It should sizzle gently but firmly when it hits the pan. Cook about 3 minutes per side, until cooked through, but still moist. The fish should flake easily with a fork. Don’t overcook your fish! It’ll taste awful!



4) Remove fish from pan and cut into 1/2″ chunks. Serve immediately with warmed tortillas: I put a light layer of cabbage on the bottom, then the sauce, a few chunks of fish, the minced onion, a couple of slices of banana pepper and a squeeze of lime. And once the fish is done, you can do what I do, and make cabbage tacos — everything except the fish! So good!

Pizza Buns

Here is a fun little twist on pizza.  They are like cinnamon rolls- but savory.   I found the recipe at King Arthur's- but didn't have a lot of the ingredients- so I adapted it to what I had and they were really good.  They came out of the oven and we packed them up and headed to a soccer game.  Nice and portable.  The ingredients in red are in the original recipe- but I didn't have and therefore didn't use.  I added the powdered buttermilk-but it wasn't in the original recipe.
For the dough:
1/2 cup milk
2/3 cup hot water
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/4 teaspoons salt

4 teaspoons Pizza Dough Flavor, optional but good
1 tablespoon sugar
3 tablespoons Baker’s Special Dry Milk or nonfat dry milk
2 tablespoons potato flour or 1/4 cup instant potato flakes
3 1/2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
2 teaspoons instant yeast
3 tablespoons buttermilk powder

Proof your yeast- add the milk and mix it all with the powdered ingredients to make a soft, smooth dough.  May be a little sticky.  Cover it and allow it to rise for 60-90 minutes.  Roll it out and add whatever pizza ingredients you like.  Pepperoni, sausage, mushrooms olives etc.  Sprinkle 1 1/2 cups grated cheese and roll the whole thing up.  Slice just like you would for  cinnamon rolls- about 1 inch thick.  Place six on a baking tray and cover- let rise again for about 60 minutes.  Bake in a 350 over for 15 minutes.  Remove from oven and spread your favorite pizza sauce over the top and cover with about 1/4 cup of cheese.  Return to oven for another 15-20 minutes or until the cheese is as toasted as you would like. 

Strawberry- Ricotta Graham Tartlets

These were yummers!

Strawberry-Ricotta Graham Tartlets

Adapted — barely, as the recipe was just about perfect — from Food & Wine

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1/4 cup whole wheat flour, or graham flour if you can get it
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
Pinch of ground cloves
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
3 tablespoons plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 tablespoons honey
1 1/2 teaspoons molasses (you can swap this with additional honey, if desired)
3/4 pound strawberries, thinly sliced
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 1/4 cups ricotta (10 ounces), fresh if you can find it, a full-fat store bought if you cannot
2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

Make grahams: In a bowl, whisk both flours with the cinnamon, salt and cloves. Beat the butter, light brown sugar and 2 tablespoons of the granulated sugar at medium speed on an electric mixer until fluffy, about 1 minute. Beat in the honey and molasses, about 30 seconds. Scrape down the side of the bowl and beat in the flour mixture at low speed, just until incorporated. Pat the dough into a disk, cover with plastic and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the dough 1/8 inch thick. Using a 3 1/2-inch oval cookie cutter (recommendation of original recipe), a 3 1/2-inch round cutter (what I had, and used) or a smaller cutter of your choice (I might go with 3 inches next time, as I like petite desserts), stamp out your bases. (About 16 with a 3 1/2-inch oval, 10 with a 3 1/2-inch round or more with a smaller cutter.) Reroll the dough scraps if necessary. Transfer the grahams to the baking sheets and bake for about 12 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through, until lightly golden around the edges. Let cool on the pans for 5 minutes, then transfer the grahams to racks to cool completely.

Make toppings: In a bowl, toss the strawberries with the remaining 3 tablespoons of sugar and the lemon juice. Let stand until syrupy, 20 minutes. In a medium bowl, mix the ricotta, confectioners’ sugar and lemon zest.
Assemble tartlets: Spread about 1 tablespoon of the ricotta mixture on each graham. Arrange the strawberries over the ricotta, drizzle with the syrup and serve.

Do ahead: Grahams will keep in an airtight container for up to two weeks. They will keep longer, unbaked, in the freezer. Ricotta mixture, if your ricotta is fresh, will keep for a day or two and up to a week if from packaged ricotta. Strawberry mixture should, in theory, keep for a few days but will not because it is delicious enough to spoon over every yogurt, oatmeal or ice cream scoop you can find.

Spicy Orange Shrimp

Ingredients

24 pieces (26-30 Per Pound) Deveined Shrimp
4 cloves garlic sliced or minced
3/4 cups Orange Juice
1/4-1/2 teaspoons Ground Cayenne Pepper- depending on how much "heat" you like.
1 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning
3 Tablespoons Salted Butter

Preparation Instructions

Thaw and peel the shrimp. Thaw them by running them under cold water for a few minutes. Dry the peeled shrimp by draining them on a paper towel or two.

Thinly slice your garlic cloves. Add the garlic to ¾ cup of orange juice. Use a nice high quality orange juice. Measure out and add all of the spices to the orange juice as well.

In a large skillet over high heat melt 2 tablespoons butter. Once butter has melted add your shrimp. Cook them for about 30-60 seconds and begin flipping them over starting with the ones you placed in the pan first so they don’t get overdone. Cook for another 30-60 seconds. Remove the cooked shrimp from the pan, leaving the heat on high.

Add the spicy orange garlic mixture to the pan and give it a good stir. Add the last tablespoon of butter to the sauce and after a few minutes of cooking and occasional stirring your sauce should be slightly thicker.

Return the shrimp to the pan and give them a nice toss to coat them in the sauce. Allow an intermingling of souls to take place for just a few seconds and then it’s time for the fireworks.

Serve with jasmine rice.  Delish!- oh and very easy

Orange Chicken Rice Bowl

So....there are lots of easy things I cook that I don't have a recipe for. This is one of them. The reason I'm posting it is so I can actually remember this dish from seeing it on my blog. Its fast, easy and really good.

The chicken is "Orange Chicken" from the frozen foods section of Costco. Ya know those people who hand out the samples? Ya, they totally got me! I think it was about $13.00 for a big box with two bags of chicken in it. Anyway, the chicken cooks at 400 degrees for 15-18 minutes and then you add the orange sauce.

I made some basamati rice which takes 20 minutes (white or sticky rice is great too). Boil water and add some frozen mixed veggies. I also added freshly chopped onion, mushrooms and celery to the boiling water too. Boiling the veggies is not the best way to cook the veggies, but it is fast because you can throw the fresh and frozen veggies in the same pan-less clean up! Boil the veggies for about 5 minutes is all. Drain the veggies and make sure to salt them when they are done. I then added the veggies to the rice and threw the whole thing together in a bowl.

And BAM! There ya go, its easy, fast and delicious.

Coconut Chocolate Chunk Blondies

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
4 ounces unsalted butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
1 cup light brown sugar
1 large egg
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup sweetened flaked coconut
1 cup chocolate chips or chunks


Topping:

1 cup semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips
1 teaspoon butter

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour an 8-inch square baking pan.
2. Combine the flour and salt; set aside.
3. Stir together the melted butter and brown sugar until smooth; beat in egg and vanilla extract until well blended.
4. Slowly beat in the flour mixture until blended, then stir in the coconut and chocolate chips.
5. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth even with a rubber spatula.
6. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until set in the center but still soft. Do not overbake. Let the bars cool slightly before drizzling with chocolate, then cool completely before cutting into squares.
7. For the topping, combine the chocolate and butter in a small bowl and microwave in 30-second intervals until melted and smooth. Using a spoon, drizzle over the bars.

I usually double this and put it in a 9x13 pan- 30-35 minutes.  I've never made the topping.  Good stuff!